2 for 1 at Holiday Show 2009, RDS

ScouseMouse

Ok, that time of year again and I have an email from a large travel company (who shall remain nameless) which can be printed off and gets two for one entry into the holiday show, this weekend.

Anyone wanting it, PM me your email.

ronbyrne2005

People actually pay to attend a show where everyone is just selling holidays to them?

Trampas

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

People actually pay to attend a show where everyone is just selling holidays to them?

I can never understand why someone should have to pay into these where it is just really a big selling hall.

mickoneill30

Trampas wrote: »

I can never understand why someone should have to pay into these where it is just really a big selling hall.

While I agree with you in that it should be free, it's still worth it as an easy way to compare and contrast different operators in one location. It saves trapesing around Dublin to compare the different operators.

I wonder how busy they'll be this year though.

justsomebloke

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

People actually pay to attend a show where everyone is just selling holidays to them?

maybe to try and get ideas of where you might want to go on holiday different to what you usually do. There are a lot of things slightly different to the norm that you may never consider looking for yourself untill someone else shows you it to you instead so an event like this can help showcase these types of holidays.

Also for a lot of people get a kick of a planning a looking forward to a holiday so would enjoy something like this so will happily pay to go and pay in.

josh59

Trampas wrote: »

I can never understand why someone should have to pay into these where it is just really a big selling hall.

Agreed - although given the current climate others are offering 2 for 1 vouchers like the OP received - I got one from a large (not Irish) ferry company who we sailed with last year. Must have a look and see if there is an exhibitors list might be worth going along if there is going to be kids entertainment and so on

Editing my own post list of exhibitors :

http://www.holidayworldshow.com/exhibitor-a-z-page.html

Dades

It's €8 in for adult, btw.

http://www.holidayworldshow.com/visit-page46360.html

I'd go but that would only give the missis ideas.

mickoneill30

Thanks for the mail superscouse. That's saved me €8.

ScouseMouse

josh59 wrote: »

Agreed - although given the current climate others are offering 2 for 1 vouchers like the OP received - I got one from a large (not Irish) ferry company who we sailed with last year.

Looks like the same as mine then. Its carnt be a secret as the voucher is online and has a link to "send to a friend"

Of course its STENA line

okidoki987

Cheers for the voucher

josh59

superscouse wrote: »

Looks like the same as mine then. Its carnt be a secret as the voucher is online and has a link to "send to a friend"

Of course its STENA line

Ended up going with one child today - left mum and other at home - €6 to park your car in the car park & then €8 in for me DD was free. Wasn't the busiest I've ever seen the place - an awful lot of country stands - LOADS from South Africa, Spain & France plus the usual stands selling JML s&*te. DD enjoyed it - got loads of sweets pens balloons, key rings etc. I've enough bed time reading for the next few weeks:D

muint

yeah - noticed myself that it was quietish - especially towards late afternoon. All exhibitors anxious to promote. Boiling hot walking around but I did loads of entries to win stuff like mobile home holidays in Wales and other exciting things:p
Got enough brochures and leaflets to start up a travel agency,a hi liter, pens, pencils, free Thai massage,......

gussieg

four yoyos for a thai massage cant be bad

ve

mickoneill30 wrote: »

While I agree with you in that it should be free, it's still worth it as an easy way to compare and contrast different operators in one location. It saves trapesing around Dublin to compare the different operators.

I'm not trying to be smart but surely the web is a much better place to compare and contrast holiday packages than having to get stuck in traffic, pay for parking, pay an admission fee to an event that is just full of added layers of middle men. A few years ago I was heading to New York and was scouring the web for travel deals. For the craic one day while I was in town I decide I'd pop in to a travel agency to see what kind of deal I could get. To my amazement I watched the person behind the counter open their web browser and head to many of the sites I had already received quotes from already. For me there was no clear benefit as a customer to avail of their service. Times have changed very much for that industry as the general public are now much better equipped to (in most cases) cut out the travel agencies.

latenia

muint wrote: »

free Thai massage,......

Giving people a taste of Bangkok before they go I presume...

mickoneill30

ve wrote: »

For the craic one day while I was in town I decide I'd pop in to a travel agency to see what kind of deal I could get. To my amazement I watched the person behind the counter open their web browser and head to many of the sites I had already received quotes from already. For me there was no clear benefit as a customer to avail of their service. Times have changed very much for that industry as the general public are now much better equipped to (in most cases) cut out the travel agencies.

If all travel agents were like that you'd be correct. They're not though. That doesn't sound like any travel agent I've been to. I'd certainly do the same as you if I got a guy like that and book elsewhere. When I'm booking a holiday (and they're all expensive these days) then €8 for a wander through the RDS doesn't sound like too much to get a few ideas.

Booking a holiday over the internet is not the same as using a good travel agent. I've done both. It depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to save. If all you're booking is a sun holiday on a beach then the internet is grand. If you want something that's complicated you can spend days figuring stuff out on the internet and reading reviews and looking up maps or you can just ask somebody that's done it before you (and still spend days reading reviews and looking up maps) but at least you can benefit from some experience (if they have it). I went to Egypt a couple of years ago. It was obvious in the first travel agent I went into the lady hadn't a clue. She was giving me a standard spiel and couldn't answer anything out of the ordinary. In the second travel agent the guy stayed in one of the hotels we eventually stayed in, he could recommend where to avoid and some good local guides. It cost no more than we were pricing on the internet and it made our holiday a load easier.

ve

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Booking a holiday over the internet is not the same as using a good travel agent. I've done both. It depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to save. If all you're booking is a sun holiday on a beach then the internet is grand. If you want something that's complicated you can spend days figuring stuff out on the internet and reading reviews and looking up maps or you can just ask somebody that's done it before you (and still spend days reading reviews and looking up maps) but at least you can benefit from some experience (if they have it). I went to Egypt a couple of years ago. It was obvious in the first travel agent I went into the lady hadn't a clue. She was giving me a standard spiel and couldn't answer anything out of the ordinary. In the second travel agent the guy stayed in one of the hotels we eventually stayed in, he could recommend where to avoid and some good local guides. It cost no more than we were pricing on the internet and it made our holiday a load easier.

I spent a week in Cairo / Alexandria a few years ago and at the time we used a local travel agency. When we arrived @ our hotel in Giza (in sight of the pyramids), we were shocked at what our agent called "brilliant". Inside the lobby door were metal detectors and a guy with a machine gun. It was a sight that you just couldn't relax around. We were there in February, not exactly high season, but they also put us on the top (9th) floor of the building and told us there was a swimming pool on the roof. For the time we were there the pool did not have any water in it . Also we felt like we were the only people in the hotel. The bell hops used to wait outside our door in groups waiting for us to come out so they could earn a tip. In the end we used the web from that hotel to find a 5 star "well known chain" hotel and spent the rest of our trip there instead (and it had a lovely swimming pool / staff). So I guess it's just based on our personal experiences. The bricks and mortar businesses have failed me, and the web seems to be getting better and better all the time for this sort of thing. Fantastic new services coming online, etc.

I know if I was going on say a honeymoon or the likes I might talk to a travel agent, but I probably would only mine them for information and not necessarily give them my business. Actually I would most likely come on here or use TripAdvisor, etc to get customer feedback. I don't doubt there are good travel agencies still out there, however we're now able to browse and compare deals from the comfort of our own homes, read the reviews of many other people who have been (Tripadvisor) and even have a virtual walk around to scope out the place you are going to (using Google Earth) all for free. This was not possible only a few years ago and indeed my only option would have been to trust the travel agent. Based on my experiences I would value higher 50 online reviews of a destination over a face to face meeting with a travel (sales) agent. Also by using the web I would not take up anyone else's time to find out this information from the moment I start to look, to the moment I find out what I needed. When I was in New York, I knew my way around before I got there thanks to the web.

I know I sound very disloyal to local business and in a way I could understand such a judgement, but I don't think I'm to blame. I think the business model in a lot of industries has found greater efficiency for all concerned embracing the web as a business platform. I think a lot of businesses could do wonders for their profit margins using the web and better meet the needs of their customers. Unfortunately a lot of businesses when they think of employing the web they think this just means putting their catalogue on the web with a shopping cart facility and a half assed website, when there is so much more and often better ways to use it that they don't know about. It's those businesses in my opinion that will be losing out because they just don't see the potential or can justify the investment. They then complain that people like me (and there are many of us) are being disloyal when we're just consumers advancing along with a market that they hope to god will not change. Business does change and that's a fact, what works today will not tomorrow. When your customers realise this fact before you do, you'll be in trouble. Everyone knows that, but many are still surprised that they became a victim by standing still.

I know I may be coming across as very cold here, but I know quite a few "local businesses" that over the last decade have started generating more revenue via the web. In those cases I am more than happy to give them my custom because I know they are rolling with the times and not charging me for things that I no longer need to be paying for.

I am quite certain people will come back and say that we will always need bricks and mortar businesses and human interaction, etc., and I agree. I am just saying that a lot of value now exclusive to that type of business model is becoming less and less. For that reason I think that events like the one in the RDS are just being sly promoting a 2 for 1 special offer on something that doesn't need to cost anything at all when it certainly cannot provide the customer with as much unique value as say 10 years ago.

niamh01

Hiya

Could you please mail me the voucher for the 2 for 1 show this weekend? Much appreciated!

Niamh

LoLth

wah! zombie thread!

patmac

niamh01 wrote: »

Hiya

Could you please mail me the voucher for the 2 for 1 show this weekend? Much appreciated!

Niamh

You missed the show by about a year. Not the best first post ever.

niamh01

It's on this weekend - 2010 show,

ScouseMouse

Just to point out this post is from LAST YEAR.

LoLth

true but this offer was for the holiday show 2009. never know, you might be lucky and the OP has vouchers for this year.

a friendly point: its generally considered bad form to bump threads that are long past their sell by date. not always, just generally.

anyway, best of luck with the voucher hunt.

ScouseMouse

This is expired.

I am watching my email for a voucher this year but nothing yet.

If it appears, I will post here. So there is no point pming me.

Just watch this thread.

superscouse

Irishminds

Things never change. The holiday show was in Belfast last weekend. Free tickets were in the Belfast Telegraph and there was 2 for 1 vouchers in travel brochures.

Basq

If you're looking for tickets for this year's show, make a new thread in 'Requests'.

Closed!