Joe Walsh Excursions is hottest victim of pandemic as journey company closes

A single of Ireland’s ideal-regarded tour operators and journey agencies, Joe Walsh Tours, has ceased investing right after 60 decades.

oe Walsh was a well-known name in vacation. The Co Down male set up his holiday break organization in Dublin in 1961 after performing with the Ulster Transportation Authority and then Thomas Cook dinner in London.

Chartering his have planes, he helped introduce the community to package deal holiday seasons (memorable 1970s ads beckoned punters to “join the JWT set”), while pilgrimage visits to areas these as Lourdes had been among the the to start with flights that persons from Northern Ireland and the Republic would have taken abroad.

Yesterday the Commission for Aviation Regulation reported the business, which traded less than several names including Concorde Vacation, Leinster Rugby Excursions and Cara Vacations, was “unable to fulfil its obligations to its customers”.

“Joe Walsh PilgrimTours Ltd did every little thing they could to see by themselves and their buyers via the pandemic,” the business stated. “Like numerous journey organizations and tour operators [it] was spending overheads, when at the same time not able to trade and also waiting on refunds from suppliers. Joe Walsh Pilgrimtours Ltd has labored whole-time during the pandemic for no return.”

The company has set up claim-relevant hotlines for consumers to aid them with queries.

The fee reported anybody remaining out of pocket may well be coated by its consumer protection scheme and the Government’s refund credit history observe scheme. Customers with monies compensated in the direction of a cancelled reserving or a long term travel offer can get in touch with aviationreg.ie to make a assert.

Joe Walsh Tours is just the most up-to-date journey agency in the Republic to cease buying and selling in the course of the pandemic, signing up for a record that includes USIT, Rathgar Journey, Flyaway Travel, Earth Journey, SunSearch and DK journey.

Pat Dawson, CEO of the Irish Vacation Agents Affiliation, explained the closure highlights the issues the travel field has been dealing with.

He known as on the Federal government “to increase income support for journey agents into 2022 when the community are back travelling and holidaying again”.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company had workplaces in Ireland, the British isles, Europe and in the US.

It used in excess of 100 people and also ran offer-deal outings to Heineken Cup and Champions League video games.

Joe Walsh PilgrimTours Ltd thanked its personnel and shoppers for their “loyalty around the decades and for their guidance and comprehending all through this time”.

Belfast Telegraph