From left: Mr John Corcoran, Regional Director, Failte Ireland; Mr Gary Breen, General Manager, Failte Ireland South East; Ms Elaine Warren, Chairman, Do.
Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, has confirmed Mr Gary Breen as its new General Manager for the South East Region. He replaces Mr Joe Palmer, who has retired after 40 years in Irish tourism.
Gary has worked with South East Tourism and more recently Fáilte Ireland since 1997. Prior to joining South East Tourism, he worked in sports tourism in North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. He holds a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MBA from El Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.
Commenting on prospects for the South East this year Mr Breen said Fáilte Ireland was committed to working with tourism businesses to maintain the quality of their service, contain costs and attract more customers.
“It is our ambition to grow the South East’s market share of the home market in 2009. This is achievable, but it will depend on how businesses respond to the challenges that the year brings. Central to stimulating consumer demand this year will be the offering of exceptional value for money, a challenge that the industry in the region is already meeting head on”, said the new regional chief.
Reinforcing Fáilte Ireland’s commitment to supporting the industry in 2009, Mr Breen continued: “We will work closely with our industry partners in the year ahead and will ensure that the South East is prominent in Fáilte
Ireland’s aggressive pursuit of holiday visitors – with particular focus on positioning the region as the ideal spot for weekend breaks and family-friendly holidays”.
Fáilte Ireland has extended thanks to Mr Palmer for his commitment and dedication to Irish tourism and in particular his hard work in developing tourism in the South East over the last number of years.
