CTW Training held at the five-star Aghadoe Heights hotel in Killarney, Ireland

The distinguished five-star Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa in Killarney has become the first hotel in Ireland’s County Kerry to be provided with CTW Chinese Tourist Welcome Training and accordingly recognised as a CTW Quality Organisation.

The training was delivered by COTRI Country Partner for Ireland, Dr. Tony Lenehan of the Centre for Competitiveness and was also attended by the Irish Hotels Federation Kerry Branch Chairperson, Niamh O’Shea and Marie Healy from Fáilte Ireland.

The session comes in the wake of the recent introduction of the first direct flights to Ireland from Beijing and Hong Kong, operated by Hainan Airlines and Cathay Pacific respectively.

Discussing the importance of CTW Training for the hotel’s clientele, Aghadoe Heights General Manager Niall Coffey underlined that “understanding our Chinese guests’ cultural needs is absolutely pivotal to their overall experience of Ireland.”

As part of the presentation of certificates to hotel staff, Mr. Coffey endorsed the key role the training would play in Aghadoe Heights’ services to Chinese guests. “The team at the Aghadoe have worked so hard to achieve this special accreditation. We are proud to become the first hotel in Kerry to be ready to provide a special Irish Welcome to our Chinese guests.” He furthered that “this also coincides perfectly with the EU-China Year of Tourism 2018 initiative, for which we are delighted to offer our support. Recent data released by Fáilte Ireland has shown us how important the Chinese tourism market has become and the potential for growth is significant.”

Image: The Centre for Competitiveness (Ireland)