About us
Our Story
Meet the Team
Tina O'Dwyer
Managing Director, Senior Consultant, Training Lead, Strategic Facilitator, Executive Coach
Jarlath O'Dwyer
Business Trainer, Facilitator, Senior Consultant, Networks Lead
Marie Slattery
Senior Tourism Consultant, Industry Programmes Lead
Our Mission
Our mission is to reframe what success in tourism means today, by empowering public sector tourism professionals to confidently lead the transition of the industry to a sustainable, collaborative and regenerative future.
We do this by providing accredited training, bespoke learning solutions and transformative learning spaces. We upskill and empower people throughout the tourism ecosystem to collectively evolve a model of tourism that delivers on the 5 Objectives of Place:
- Profitable Local Businesses
- Meaningful Climate Action
- Enriched and Thriving Communities
- Delighted and Empowered Visitors
- Vibrant Nature and Culture
The Tourism Space embodies a spirit of tourism that seeks to nurture life within host destinations, fosters the well-being of all residents (human and non-human), while recognising the interconnectedness of all stakeholders.
Our Values
Meitheal
Facilitate collective effort for greater good
Machnamh
Take time to reflect, consolidate and share
Misneach
Be brave, spirited and ambitious for ‘better’
Muinín
Believe deeply in ourselves and in others
Maitheas
Be better and do better
Our Inspiration
The Celtic Tree of Life represents a balance of harmony within nature. While the branches reach for the sky, the roots permeate the earth. It clearly shows the link between every root below the ground and every branch above
For the Celts, the tree symbolized the web of life. It represented rebirth. It also stood for inner strength, wisdom and knowing.
Oak trees grow tall and mighty. Eventually, they stop growing upwards but keep growing wider, richer and deeper. They become an ecosystem of their own, in which other living things can flourish. Interestingly, some oak trees have even been shown to become smaller for the good of the overall ecosystem!
We seek to be inspired by this example from nature in our business, in our work with clients and in our advocacy for sustainable and regenerative approaches in tourism.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applicants and proposals from all backgrounds.
Who We Work WithOur Contribution
We provide an annual financial donation to sponsor the Regenerative Burren Pine Project and the work of landscape charity, the Burrenbeo Trust.
Hometree enable us to plant a native Irish tree for every event ticket we sell. We also contribute a lump sum in recognition of travel we undertake for business.
We are a Business Friend of The Burren Ecotourism Network.
We mentor industry research projects of undergraduate tourism management students.
Tina serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for the Galway International Hotel School at Atlantic Technological University
We commit to our own continuous professional development in professional coaching.
Tina serves on the Responsible Tourism Steering Group for the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions in Ireland.
We incorporate and promote Leave No Trace principles in our programmes.
We have highlighted the importance of accessible and inclusive tourism in our destination training programmes through training delivered by CARA Centre.
Why Tourism?
We have built a business we love in the place that we love. We followed our hearts and let our place be the anchor for our work and family life. We believe wholeheartedly in the power of place, of connection, belonging and legacy. We owe a lot to our own place.
We believe in the power of tourism to transform lives and livelihoods. We believe in the power of tourism to build pride and community spirit, to create conditions for nature and places to thrive.
In an increasingly technology-driven world, we think tourism is important. We love working in a space that will always be about real people in real places doing real things in real time.
