In this Issue:

Tourism News Travel News Events Summer 2010 Recipe Brain Teaser Final Thought

Tourism News

£1.4m campaign to draw tourists north
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has launched a 2010 summer staycation campaign aimed at the Republic. The theme for the new £1.4m campaign is "Find Your Journey" and it is designed to encourage holidaymakers to look no further than the North when it comes to taking a short break or holiday this summer. In 2009 the total number of holiday makers visiting NI from the Republic increased by almost 40% and the tourist board is expecting the trend to continue this year.
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Ash cloud causes 25% drop in tourist numbers
The closure of Irish airspace due to the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland led to a drop in people visiting Ireland in April. CSO figures released today show a drop of over 151,000 in visitors here, compared to April 2009, a fall of almost 25%. Meanwhile, Irish people made fewer trips abroad in April, down almost 28% on the same month in 2009.
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Blue Flag and Green Coasts Awards 2010
The Blue Flag is an international award for beach excellence which is operated in Ireland by An Taisce with support from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The award is presented to beaches and marinas which have excellent water quality and which achieve high standards across a wide range of other criteria including management of the environment, safety and other services.
This year, 76 Blue Flags have been awarded, a decrease of 1 in the number awarded in 2009. New awards for 5 beaches were offset by losses at 6 others. The majority of Blue Flags went to beaches with just 2 marinas, Killinure Point at Glasson, Lough Ree and Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, earning the coveted award.
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Click here to view all Blue Flag winners more>>

Tidy Towns Winners 2010
Congratulations to Killarney, the overall winner of Ireland’s Best Kept Town competition, 2010.

The full results are:
Best Village - Abbeyshrule,County Longford
Best Small Town - Broughshane, County Antrim
Best Large Town - Killarney, County Kerry
Best Large Urban - Coleraine, County Londonderry Centre
Overall Winner - Killarney, County Kerry
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Travel and Tourism Statistics 2008 - 2009

The following table indicates where visitors came from and the type of accommodation they chose in 2008 and 2009.

Travel News

Aer Lingus to move to Terminal 2
Aer Lingus has announced that it will transfer its Dublin Airport operation to Terminal Two when the new terminal opens in November. However, Aer Lingus warned it would review the decision if differential pricing is introduced to T2. Aer Lingus's move will mean that passengers will be able to avail of the US Customs and Border Protection facility.
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Call for Irish Rail to reverse closure decision
The members of Waterford City Council spoke out against the closure of the Waterford to Rosslare rail line scheduled for next month. The comments were made in support of a motion tabled by Cllr Davy Walsh and Cllr Jack Walsh, who both called on Irish Rail to reverse the decision to close the line.
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New Air link to Galway
Airline manx2.com is to begin a new service between Belfast International Airport and Galway on July 5. Designed to stimulate commerce and tourism between the two cities, Manx2.com will operate a twice-daily commuter service most weekdays, re-opening air links between Belfast and the west of Ireland. The airline will operate 18 flights per week, including a full service on Sunday evenings.
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Events Summer 2010

Cahir go Léir Festival
9th - 11th July 2010
The Cahir go Léir Festival will take place this summer from Friday 9th July to Sunday 11th July. This Community Festival is being organised in conjunction with the TRI3 Triathlon Series and a great weekend of entertainment is being planned.

Bray Summer Fest
Bray Summerfest 2010 is a unique summer festival, with 100-plus events taking place over six weeks in July and August, making it the largest and one of the favourite summer beach-party festivals in Ireland. The programme combines live music, arts arenas, fireworks, funfairs, garden parties, beach Shakespeare, street parties, Irish and international crafts and food markets, air shows, beach sports and much more,
more>>

Heritage Week
Heritage Week 2010 will run from the 21st - 29th August. Each year many national and hundreds of local community organisations participate by organising events throughout the country. There is something to appeal to almost everyone and the main aim is to build awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation.
more>>

Timoleague Festival
13th - 22nd August 2010
In August each year the village hosts the timoleague festival . This ten day harvest festival sees the streets thronged with locals and tourists alike trying to catch a glimpse of the many street activities which are organised for the event. Live street music, pig racing and the fancy dress competitions are among the most popular of these activities. A large marquee is also erected on the village green during the festival with many big name acts performing during the ten day period. Check our festival page for details of this years performers and events.
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List an event for free
Do you have an event you would like to see listed? Whether you are holding a festival, fair or workshop, we offer free publication. Check our event calendar for events all over Ireland
Events Calendar>>

Recipe

Barbecue Salmon With Basil
4 salmon fillets, each approx 2cm (or 1 inch) thick
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil,
2 teaspoons basil (fresh is best, but if you can only get dried basil, just use half as much), roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Directions
Heat grill to medium-hot.
In a small bowl, combine the chopped basil with the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.
Spoon the mixture over the salmon fillets, remembering to do both sides.
Grill salmon steaks for 5 minutes on one side, then turn over.
Brush with remaining oil, lemon juice & basil mixture and grill for another 5 minutes, or until
the fillets flake when you test with a fork.
Serve each fillet with 2 wedges of lemon.
GREAT with cous-cous or a jacket potato!

Serves: 4 – or as many people as there are salmon fillets.

For more Barbecue ideas click here more>>

Brain Teaser

TASTE
- - - - - Adhesive
- - - - - Out of fashion
- - - - - Dissect syntactically
- - - - - Small money bag
- - - - - Flush
- - - - - Spate
- - - - - Fabric
- - - - - Brink
- - - - - Rhyme
- - - - - Laconic
- - - - - Taut
SENSE
answer

Final Thought

A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.
Mark Twain

Slán

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