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myguideIreland is Ireland 's largest online travel service provider selling inbound products to the island of Ireland servicing the US, UK, Irish, Canadian, French, Japanese and German markets. The company is a complete travel resource offering Ireland vacation packages , flights to Ireland , accommodation in Ireland , Ireland car rental , escorted coach tours of Ireland , activity holidays and general information about Ireland . The office is opened 7 days a week for a total of over 100 hours to cater for Guests from different time zones.
The company's websites are designed and maintained in-house by an excellent web design team and are designed to be visually appealing, navigable, informative, to build brand and generate sales. Each site has more than 1,000 pages of content and the myguideIreland website receives approx. 500,000 page impressions per month.
Business History
myguideIreland was established in 1998 as 1 2 Travel by three Irish friends; Conor B. Buckley, Conor Buckley (no relation) and Cormac O’Neill. The three had spent four years working and studying in Philadelphia, U.S. and returned to Ireland via a round the world trip booked through a travel agent they had found on the Internet. Realising the potential for Internet based travel services, the three set up an online travel company on their return home, selling the country they knew and loved – Ireland. On 4th September 1998, Conor B, Conor and Cormac formed a limited company.
In May 1999 myguideIreland made its first sale to a honeymooning couple from America and the myguideIreland "Dream Vacation" was born. In 2000 myguideIreland launched websites for the British, German, Canadian and Irish markets, which were followed in 2001 with the launch of websites targeting the Japanese and French markets.
With the vision and experience of its directors and the drive and enthusiasm of its employees, myguideIreland achieved over IR£1 Million in sales in their first full trading year.
Location
Up to recently the company was located in converted outhouses on a farm in West Cork , avoiding the spiralling rent of urban Ireland. However, myguideIreland currently employs 50 people and in September 2007 moved to new offices on the outskirts of Skibbereen. The workforce comprises many nationalities including French, English, German, Swiss and of course Irish.
Also in 2007, myguideIreland merged with Crystal Travel & Tours, a Boston based company that had been providing travel between Boston and Ireland since 1985. Crystal Travel & Tours was founded by Jim & Teresa Kelly in Wakefield, Massachusetts after both had emigrated from Co. Galway, Ireland to Boston in the early 1960s. Jim had worked at Aer Lingus (Irish Airlines) for 20 years and Teresa worked for Eastern Airlines before opening up Crystal Travel. myguideIreland now also has an office in Boston as a result of this merger expanding the opening hours of the company further and giving greater service to the west Coast of the USA.
Website
The various 12Travel Websites were consolidated into one myguideIreland.com website in 2007.On the website, categories are clearly defined and information can be easily obtained. The colour scheme is well chosen and pictures are used throughout, but care is taken to ensure that all graphics download quickly.
Each category offers a large amount of information. Packages include Escorted Coach Tours, Self-Drive Vacations and Golf Tours. Accommodation contains Special Castles for rent, Stately Houses, Hotels and B&B's and Activities include Fishing, Watersports, Cycling and Walking, Equestrian Sports and Cruises.
An information section has helpful tips for travellers to Ireland such as Arriving in Ireland, Embassies, Law Enforcement, Driving, Telephones etc. Also in this section a clickable map divides Ireland into 8 regions and contains details about various towns and cities. Other features on the site include a Postcard Service, Irish Wallpaper Images and Screen Savers, a Currency Converter and a Distance Chart.
myguideIreland is a dynamic company and quickly adapts to new technology. The company has won awards for both website design and business acumen. The future for myguideIreland is not yet written, watch this space.
myguideIreland is bonded and licensed in accordance with Irish and European law and can be viewed at the following URL maintained by the Irish Government's Travel and Trade Department.
Full contact details for myguideIreland are available here.
myguideTravel
The myguideIreland team have taken the successful "destination expert" concept to other destinations and currently have 5 other brands: myguideBritain, myguideNewEngland, myguideScotland, myguidePolska and myguideWales.
In 2000 myguideIreland appointed Mr. Dan Byrne as chairman of the board and Mr. Alf Smiddy and Mr. Roddy Feely as non executive directors. Dan spent much of his career at Apple and rose to Managing Director of Apple Europe, Alf Smiddy is now Chairman of Granite Consulting (was formerly Managing Director of Beamish & Crawford, a large brewing company in Ireland), and Roddy played a key role in the Irish Tourist Board during his 40-year tenure.
In 2004 myguideIreland established a sister company in Britain - myguideBritain to emulate the success of its Irish operations and to offer Guests who had already travelled with myguideIreland to Ireland, an option for customized vacations to the UK. myguideBritain is now in its fourth successful year of operations.
In 2007 the myguideTravel company was formed as the parent company of this portfolio of brands.
Over the last 9 years myguideTravel/12Travel has experienced huge growth with 50% or greater year on year sales growth and the company now employs over 50 people. myguideIreland expect to bring over 15,000 Guests into Ireland in 2008, a prospect that the company is extremely excited about!
Mission Statement
"To create with our Guests and partners, the best holiday experiences, using knowledgeable passionate local guides. "
Meet the myguideIreland Team
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