Contest winners to make holiday 'road movie'
Two British tourists will be gobbling oysters, surfing and making their own pieces of Waterford Crystal for an online “travelmentary” to promote Ireland as a holiday destination, Tourism Ireland said today.
Ken Macarthur, from Edinburgh, and Shamilla Nandlal, from London, won the all-expenses paid trip in the agency’s “Taxi” competition, which was run over the summer in Britain.
They will be equipped with a video recorder and camera and followed by a film crew as they travel around the island in a chauffeur-driven silver taxi.
Daily updates of their trip will be available online on Tourism Ireland’s website at www.tourismireland.com/taxi.
The pair will begin their 10-day road tour in Belfast on Saturday, September 3 and finish in Dublin on Monday, September 12.
Along the way they will be asked to do daily tasks, which range from eating 10 oysters in one minute at the 13th Hillsborough International Oyster Festival, to surfing off Fanore Beach in Co Clare, and creating their very own piece of Waterford Crystal.
They will win €1,400 for each successfully completed task.
Laughlin Rigby, brand manager with Tourism Ireland, said: “As they travel through all the regions of Ireland, Ken and Shamilla will create their very own road movie, which can be viewed across the globe on the web.
“We have devised a packed and fun schedule for them which emphasises just how much Ireland has to offer as a holiday destination and are really looking forward to viewing the results nightly online.”
Brian Twomey, head of marketing communications with Tourism Ireland, said Taxi had piloted in Great Britain, which is Ireland’s biggest market for tourism, and would be monitoring traffic to the site to see how popular it is.
“As the organisation responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a holiday destination overseas, we need to constantly innovate in order to stay ahead of our competitors and maximise our use of the internet as a powerful marketing medium.
“Taxi enables us to create an experimental consumer environment on our website, highlighting the many and varied attractions, activities and accommodation on offer in all parts of the island of Ireland for potential visitors and holidaymakers,” he said.
