New general manager for Fáilte Ireland South East

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, has announced that Mr Gary Breen will take up the role of General Manager for Fáilte Ireland in the South East Region. Gary will replace Mr Joe Palmer, who is retiring 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 the prospects for the South East region in 2009, Mr Breen said -
 
“Fáilte Ireland is committed to working with tourism businesses to maintain the quality of their service, contain costs and attract more customers over the next 12 months”
 
“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 in 2009 will be the offering of exceptional ‘value for money’ - a challenge that the industry in the South East is already meeting head on”.
 
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 South East as the ideal spot for weekend breaks and family-friendly holidays.”
 
Fáilte Ireland would like to thank the outgoing General Manager, Mr Joe Palmer, for his commitment and dedication to Irish tourism and in particular his hard work in developing tourism in the South East region over the last number of years. 
 

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Louise Tolerton
PR Officer - 086 6086578/01 8847135

  
Note for editor

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy.
 
The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 320,000 people and generates more than €6 billion in revenue a year. 
 

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