Martin Shanahan, the former CEO of IDA Ireland, has been announced as the 2023 recipient of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) President’s Award, in honour of his outstanding contribution to tourism and Ireland.
Statement By IHF President
Announcing the award, IHF president Denyse Campbell said, “Every day, hotels welcome guests and businesses that are present as a direct or indirect result of Martin’s enormous contribution to foreign direct investment and the broader Irish economy and society. For this, the hotel sector and the wider tourism industry thank Martin for his tireless work.”
Previous Recipients
Previous recipients of this award include Martin Naughton and former president of Ireland Mary McAleese.
National Hotel Employee Of The Year
The news of Shanahan’s accolade follows news that Sonia Smith, receptionist at Cahernane House, Killarney, has been named IHF National Hotel Employee of the Year.
The National Hotel Employee of the Year award, which is now in its sixth year, celebrates and recognises the hotel team member who has made an outstanding contribution to his/her workplace. Campbell presented Smith with her award at the IHF’s annual conference in Killarney, on Tuesday 7 March.
IHF’s Annual Conference
Securing a long-term sustainable recovery in tourism was centre stage on Tuesday 7 March, as hoteliers gathered in Killarney for the IHF’s 85th annual conference.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Campbell said that tourism has witnessed unprecedented upheavals over the past three years, with a number of challenges still remaining.
Campbell stated, “While we saw a welcome uplift in tourism activity during the last six months of 2022, significant uncertainty persists this year, in relation to the global economy, particularly given the challenges we face around the cost of doing business, high levels of inflation, increasing interest rates, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis across key overseas markets.”
Read More: Irish Hotels Federation Hosts Annual Conference
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