Minister Donohoe to open state of the art ‘Visit Dublin’ centre

9th February, 2015

New tourism office for Dublin officially opened

 

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, will today officially open a new cutting edge Tourism Information Office which will be the first port of call for visitors to Dublin. The state of the art Tourism Information Office, located at 25 Suffolk Street, will provide visitors with up-to-date and relevant information in a way that is easy to follow, intuitive and accessible to all, combining high tech digital delivery with personal interaction and a warm Irish welcome.

The design of the new office – and its employment of the latest technology – is geared to ensure that visitors get the most from their time in the city and its surrounds by fully inspiring and informing them about what Dublin and Ireland have to offer.

 

Officially opening the new Tourism Information Office, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD today highlighted –

 

“This new facility is a winning blend of the traditional and the new. It will combine the traditionally helpful and friendly expertise of the visitor information staff with a range of very modern digital tools which will help visitors make informed decisions in relation to their visit to our city and county – allowing them to really interact with all we can offer as well as fully enjoying their stay here”.

 

The new office boasts a number of modern features which boost its ability to provide comprehensive tourism information, including:

 

  • The Inspiration Wall a spectacular large-scale video wall presenting specially commissioned photographs from around Dublin;

 

  • New intuitive Interactive Pods – to help visitors access relevant information quickly and display it elegantly with a simplified map displaying key locations and attractions throughout the city and county, showing visitors where they are in relation to the Tourism Information Office;

 

  • The Social Media Wall – another large digital display showing all the social media posts and tweets tagged with #lovedublin and filling the wall with the visitor’s own images and experiences of Dublin on an almost live basis;

 

  • The App Wall where key smartphone apps are promoted (with free Wifi provided in the Tourist Information Office) to allow visitors to download a range of great new apps, including the Wild Atlantic Way app, giving them the tools they need to sample and explore;

 

  • The ‘What’s On’ Area,updated daily, presents visitors with large screens showing events, concerts and special exhibitions that are on today and tomorrow and visitors can also book some of the events immediately at the information desk;

 

  • The Ireland Area whereDigital posters and another smaller video wall show images of stunning locations around Ireland, further inspiring visitors on longer stays to venture to other parts of the country.

 

Commenting on the design of the new tourist office, Orla Carroll, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Dublin, emphasised:

 

“This new ‘Visit Dublin’ office has been purposely designed to exploit the latest in technology to ensure that visitors here are both informed and inspired. We want visitors to Dublin to actively engage and explore their surroundings and we have a variety of easy to use and attractive tools for them to do so in this office. With its focus on the needs of the modern traveller and the provision of the most up to date information, we believe we now have a tourism office in Dublin that sets a benchmark nationally and, indeed, globally”.

 

Fáilte Ireland also today announced that they have re-booted their dedicated website for tourism in Dublin, www.visitdublin.ie. The revamped site showcases a modern, vibrant and authentic Dublin through the use of imagery, videos, and stories giving consumers a taste of the hidden gems through dynamic content such as a ‘You might like’ feature.

 

The new design for the site is intuitive to what the user is looking for and allows them to plan their trip by using a new innovative map where they can set their location, pin items they would like to do and the map gives the user a sense of proximity by showing the distance between their location and their pins. They can also ‘share’ their map with their friends or save it to print later.

 

Ms Carroll pointed out:

 

“Through its enhanced events section, our new Visit Dublin website highlights a city where there is always something happening right now. The site also promotes the great value for money that is available out there through the addition of ‘Special Offers’ for restaurants and tours”.

 

Fáilte Ireland would also soon be launching a social media campaign centred on real Dublin experiences, Ms Carroll explained:

 

“Through a new campaign to promote Dublin, we hope to rally Dubliners to create and share their Dublin experiences using the #LoveDublin tag.  Partnering with local broadcast media, Fáilte Ireland will be encouraging people to send in their content. We will select the best experiences and reward the winners with an open top city tour of all the selected experiences. All the content gathered will feed into our promotion of Dublin – both online and here in this new office.”

 

Attending today’s launch, Michael Carey, Chairman of the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, added:

 

“This new, attractive and very user-friendly ‘Visit Dublin’ centre is a great addition to all the work currently underway to help Dublin to up its game and maximise its full tourism potential. Our Grow Dublin Alliance is currently identifying what needs to be done to put Dublin firmly in the international shop window and make our destination accessible and easily understood to the global audience. Whatever results from our deliberations, I am very confident that both this new office and the revamped website will complement our work.”

The Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance has been established under Fáilte Ireland to develop a cohesive brand identity for the Dublin region which will attract more tourists, boost job creation and enhance revenue streams.

The establishment of the Alliance follows the publication last year of the Destination Dublin strategy which found that, while Dublin has recently experienced the beginnings of a recovery where tourism is concerned, the city is underperforming against its potential and has the capacity to attract even more tourists than is currently the case. The Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance is now progressing the recommendations of the Destination Dublin strategy to drive tourism forward in the capital.

Ends

Press Office, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, 01 604 1090 / 01 604 1093 www.dttas.ie pressoffice@dttas.ie

 

 

Note for Editor

 

New Fáilte Ireland Tourism Information Office

Dublin’s new and only official Tourism Information Office will be the first port of call for visitors to Dublin. The state of the art Tourism Information Office will provide visitors with up-to-date and relevant information in a way that is easy to follow, intuitive and accessible to all, combining high tech digital delivery with personal interaction and a warm Irish welcome.

 

It will allow visitors to maximise their time in the city and it’s surrounds, inspiring and informing while allowing them to learn about what Dublin and Ireland have to offer. The new Tourism Information Office will offer facilitator support while also providing visitors with a range of digital tools to help them to make informed decisions in relation to their visit to the city and to allow them to plan their itinerary.

 

The office is designed around five key objectives:

 

INSPIRE

As visitors enter the new visitor centre they are presented with the Inspiration Wall, a spectacular large-scale video wall presenting specially commissioned photographs from around Dublin. These high resolution images run on a custom-made software and hardware installation that updates over 1.7 billion pixels per second to produce the highest resolution display in Ireland today.

 

These stunning images are shown in tandem with an animated map that shows the location of the photo and also helps give the visitor a sense of scale, of both the city and the County of Dublin.

 

ENGAGE

Central to the ethos of the new Tourist Information Office is personal interaction and a warm Irish welcome. Facilitators will stand ‘front of house’, beside the Inspiration Wall and will welcome visitors and support them in researching their own specific areas of interest during their visit.

 

 

INFORM

In order to aid the facilitators, new intuitive Interactive Pods were developed for Fáilte Ireland to help visitors access relevant information quickly and display it elegantly. A simplified map displays key locations and attractions throughout the city and county, showing visitors where they are in relation to the Tourism Information Office. The facilitators can quickly show information relevant to visitors’ interests by filtering the map by Top Attractions, Museums & Galleries, Historic Buildings & Gardens and Family Fun. All Dublin has to offer is only two touches away.

 

Visitors can then be allowed to browse the Interactive Pods at their own pace, freeing up the facilitators to engage with another visitor. Visitors can browse by category or on the map and find out more information about the attractions and locations, including opening hours, admission prices and directions. The information on the pods (and all other digital elements) is updated daily with the latest information available.

 

EXPLORE

The simplified and intuitive design of the Interactive Pod software allows the visitors to freely explore the different aspects of a visit to Dublin. They can browse through the various Tours & Activities on offer or read about the ‘hidden Dublin’ in a series of articles in the Our Stories section. Finally they can also have access to the most Frequently Asked Questions in multiple languages to help them navigate the city and county.

 

RELEVANT

Free blank maps, identical to the ones displayed digitally on the pods, and free pencils are located beside each of the interactive pods. This allows the visitor to note on the map the attractions and activities that are uniquely relevant to their own needs. They can simply mark their key areas of interest and the routes to get there and walk out of the office with their own personalised map of Dublin.

 

Other Areas in the new office include:

 

What’s On Area

Updated daily, the What’s On area presents visitors with large screens showing events, concerts and special exhibitions that are on today and tomorrow. Visitors can also book some of the events immediately at the information desk.

 

Ireland Area

Digital posters and another smaller video wall show images of stunning locations around Ireland, further inspiring visitors on longer stays to venture to other parts of the country. Regional guides and leaflets about the various tours around Ireland are available for visitors to browse at their leisure while absorbing the imagery of Ireland surrounding them.

 

The App Wall

Key smartphone apps are promoted on the App Wall. These apps help visitors on their visit around Dublin and Ireland. Free Wifi is provided in the Tourist Information Office to allow visitors to download a range of great new apps, including the Wild Atlantic Way app, giving them the tools they need to sample and explore.

 

Social Media Wall

Another large digital display shows all the social media posts and tweets tagged with #lovedublin and fills the wall with the visitor’s own images and experiences of Dublin on an almost live basis.   A custom-made software tool allows the staff on site to moderate the latest tweets and posts.