Travel Counsellors has recently partnered with Irish Travel Trade News on the hunt to find the industry’s most promising writers. The inaugural competition is running from July to November 2013, with one winner selected each month to be awarded a prize of a €100 One4All voucher and an invitation to attend the 22nd Irish Travel Trade Awards at the DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin on Wednesday 11th December. At this event, one of the five monthly winners will be presented with the 2013 Budding Travel Writer of the Year Award and a cash prize of €1,000. 
Cathy Burke, General Manager at Travel Counsellors Ireland, said: “Nothing inspires people quite like travel. At Travel Counsellors we have built up a network of like-minded individuals who all have a passion for travel and enabling their customers to discover new cultures and experiences. We wanted to celebrate our love for travel and this competition is the perfect opportunity to do this. The response so far has been phenomenal. There is a lot of talent in Ireland and it’s great to be involved in a project that acknowledges and celebrates Ireland’s budding travel writers.”
The first monthly winner (in July) was Bernie Roche, HRG Worldwide / Club Travel, who participated in United’s familiarisation trip to Chicago. The four judges – Ronan Flood and Neil Steedman of Irish Travel Trade News, and Cathy Burke and Bernie Whelan of Travel Counsellors Ireland – unanimously agreed that Bernie’s article really captured the spirit of Chicago and inspired others to visit.
Cathy added: “The support from all our suppliers has really overwhelmed me. It’s fantastic to see all sectors of the industry come together to get behind the competition. We have had airlines and tour operators sharing the competition leaflets with their agents and through their backing it has helped to spread the message across the country. Ultimately, this competition is enabling us to give something back to the industry in a fun and innovative way.”
Further Information on Travel Counsellors Ireland:
www.facebook.com/IrelandCareersTC
http://ie.linkedin.com/pub/cathy-burke/52/b72/330
T: +353 (0)21 235 5895
