Dublin Visitor Survey 2003

This data was produced from a survey of 1000 overseas visitors to Dublin which looked at their attitudes, motives and touristic behaviour. The key objective of the survey was to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin City Context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions

Dublin Visitor Suvery 2002

Each annual report contains data relating to a survey of 1000 overseas visitors to Dublin which look at their attitudes, motives and touristic behaviour. The key objectives of the survey was to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin City context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions

The introduction of a Sound Quality Engineering Process to Jaguar Cars : executive summary

The control of the noise and vibration generated by an automobile is referred to as Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) engineering. It involves identifying the design detail required to reduce the noise and vibration inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle to levels that are acceptable to the customer. It also involves delivering an engine or a powertrain sound character that is both pleasing to the customer and that suits the character of the vehicle. Tuning the sound generated by a vehicle to deliver a particular character is referred to as Sound Quality Engineering. This document summarizes the work of the EngD research programme that was aimed at developing a structured process for engineering the Powertrain Sound Quality of an automobile. The need for developing a Sound Quality Engineering Process at Jaguar Cars was identified through a review of customer evaluations of the sound in Jaguar's vehicles and those of its competitors. This review established that Jaguar's existing vehicles were trailing the leading competition in terms of the delivery of Powertrain Sound Quality. The reason for this shortfall was that the NVH Department at Jaguar did not have a focus on delivering the customer requirements. Without this focus there was no means of using the customer level requirements, for Sound Quality to drive the vehicle design process. The EngD research programme resulted in the formulation and implementation of a Sound Quality Engineering Process at Jaguar Cars that addressed this need. The first part of the research programme involved developing a means of quantifying the differences in the subjective Sound Quality character perceived by the customer. It was established that the subjective nature of the Powertrain Sound Quality could be represented by two underlying dimensions; a measure of the degree of Refinement and a measure of degree of Powerfulness. An assessment technique was developed that enabled the subjective Sound Quality character for a given vehicle to be quantified through its location within a 2-Dimensional Sound Quality Space, the axes of which were defined by each of the two underlying dimensions of Sound Quality. This 2- Dimensional Sound Quality Space provided the means of quantifying the differences in the Sound Quality characters for all of the vehicles competing in the luxury vehicle sectors. It was applied to define subjective Sound Quality targets for all of the new vehicle programmes at Jaguar Cars. These targets identified the required improvements to each of the two underlying dimensions of Sound Quality needed to address the shortfalls in Jaguar Cars' existing vehicles. The second part of the research programme involved identifying the key acoustic features within the sound signatures of Jaguar's vehicles that were responsible for determining the differences in subjective perception between these vehicles and their competitors. The changes to these key acoustic features were related to the required improvements to each of the two dimensions of Sound Quality that were established from the subjective target setting process. The final part of the research programme involved developing techniques that linked these key acoustic features to the noise sources and paths that were responsible for generating them. Through this link it was possible to establish the changes to these noise sources and paths that were necessary to deliver the required changes to the key acoustic features. In this way the required improvements to each of the two underlying dimensions of Sound Quality were used to define the vehicle design specification at the concept stage of the vehicle development programme and consequently drive the vehicle design process. The ability to link the subjective customer level requirements for Sound Quality to the design detail specification has overcome the previously identified shortfall within the NVH development process at Jaguar Cars. The techniques developed during the EngD research programme were formulated into a Sound Quality Engineering Process. Although the process was developed for Jaguar Cars the findings from the research and the techniques developed have since been applied by the different brands within the Ford Motor Company. Within Jaguar Cars the process has been implemented across all of the new vehicle programmes. It has directly resulted in significantly improved Sound Quality characters in the new vehicles that have been recently introduced to the luxury vehicle market

Dublin Visitor Survey 2008

Each annual report contains data relating to a survey of 1000 overseas visitors to Dublin which looked at their attitudes, motives, and touristic behaviour. The key objective of the survey was to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin city context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions

Dublin Visitor Survey 2009

Each annual report contains data relating to a survey of 1000 overseas visitors to Dublin which looked at their attitudes, motives, and touristic behaviour. The key objective of the survey was to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin city context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions

The Wild Atlantic Way: a Tourism Journey

The Wild Atlantic Way is possibly the most celebrated, high profile tourism initiative to be launched in Ireland in recent years. It consists of a defined touring route along the western seaboard, one of the most scenic, remote, and sensitive stretches of Irish landscape. This paper presents the principal findings from a survey of 341 tourism and hospitality product providers along the Wild Atlantic Way. The main aim of the research was to investigate the perceived impacts (economic, environmental, and socio-cultural) of this new tourism initiative on the local areas through which it passes. The results paint a generally positive picture of the effects of the route so far. However, a number of significant issues are of concern to many of the respondents; these include insufficient or inappropriate infrastructure, heightened traffic problems, increased pressure on local facilities and the perception of imbalance with regard to the dispersal of economic gain from the route. The importance of striking a balance between accessibility and sustainability is a key message which can be taken from the study

Towards a Decision Making Model for City Break Travel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the city break travel decision and in particular to develop a decision making model that reflects the characteristics of this type of trip taking. Method The research follows a sequential mixed methods approach consisting of two phases. Phase One involves a quantitative survey of 1,000 visitors to Dublin, from which city break and non city break visitor cohorts are separated and compared. Phase Two entails a qualitative analysis (involving 40 in-depth interviews) that specifically examines the decision making behaviour of city break visitors. Findings City break trips were shown to be relatively inexpensive, uncomplicated, and discretionary in nature. The city break travel decision was seen to emerge from quite distinct motives where situational factors proved particularly influential. The decision process mostly entailed low involvement / limited problem solving behaviour with strong internet usage evident throughout. Implications The findings show that many traditional decision making models have problems incorporating contemporary travel decisions such as city breaks. This is because they generally fail to recognise a non systematic approach to decision making, where the process is not necessarily undertaken in distinctive stages, and where emotional elements are just as relevant as functional ones. This study supports the need for a range of models that are reflective of the differences that exist in travel decision making - models that can distinguish the specific nuances and characteristics of particular decision situations

Dublin Visitor Survey 2008 Report

This report represents a joint research initiative by the Tourism Research Centre and the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism at the Technological University Dublin with the support of Dublin Tourism. The study has been conducted annually since 1999 and has amassed a wealth of rich data over the years. This report highlights the principal 2008 findings from the annual visitor survey including the characteristics and attitudes of out of state tourists visiting Dublin city. The key objectives of the survey are to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin city context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions

In League? Destination Marketing Organisations and Football Clubs in the Virtual Space

Logic dictates that Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs), while representing many stakeholders, should leverage a location’s most visible assets to enhance the attractiveness of the destination at any given opportunity. This study examines the manner and extent to which four major European football franchises are mentioned and promoted on the official digital marketing platforms of their respective cities; Amsterdam, Barcelona, Manchester and Munich. A tailor made content analysis tool is used to conduct a systematic investigation of the virtual platforms over which the DMOs of these cities exert a modicum of control. The content of these platforms is scrutinised from three perspectives; promotional, information dissemination or push towards purchase via external links. The four cities forming part of this study are home to some of the world’s most iconic global sporting brands. The research uncovers a level of confusion or simple lack of know-how on the part of DMOs as to how these hugely popular clubs can or should be exploited in the digital space. It proffers solutions to this dilemma as in initiating cooperative marketing efforts between the respective organisations and exposes a contemporary field that necessitates further research