WIT News

Dooley’s Hotel partners with WIT to support tourism and hospitality skills Posted: Fri, March 19, 2010

The family-owned and managed Dooley’s Hotel in Waterford has awarded a bursary to a tourism and hospitality student at Waterford Institute of Technology to highlight the importance of professional training for the industry.

Details of the bursary were announced at the Institute’s Tourism & Leisure Education building with Anthony Finnegan from Waterford the first recipient.

June Darrer, proprietor, Dooley’s Hotel, said: “We place a lot of value on training so that our frontline and behind-the-scenes personnel all operate to a high standard that makes our customer experience a positive one. We also recognise the importance of Waterford Institute of Technology to the southeast region and Ireland more widely.

“We have always enjoyed a positive working relationship with the Institute and many of our team at the hotel have previously completed courses at the Institute’s Department of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality. It is also important to us that staff keep their skills up-to-date so it is very useful to have convenient access to an Institute of this calibre.”

Ray Cullen, Head of Department of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality at Waterford Institute of Technology, added: “We are delighted to have Dooley’s Hotel on board as sponsors of this new bursary which will provide additional support to the recipient during their time at the Institute. Our ties to industry are hugely important in keeping our course content right up-to-date and we work closely with the sector to ensure our graduates are equipped with exactly the skills that the market requires.

“While there are certainly issues around the oversupply of hotel accommodation in some parts of the country, tourism has tremendous potential as a driver of economic recovery – especially as operators tackle cost competitiveness. It is encouraging that the Department of Arts, Sport & Tourism has a tourism services budget of over €155m this year. This reflects tourism’s importance as an indigenous sector sustaining around 200,000 jobs, generating over €4 billion in export earnings and almost €1.5bn in taxes for the Exchequer.”