AS Travel and Tourism Visit to The Merchant Hotel and Belfast Welcome Centre

AS Level Travel and Tourism pupils experienced an enjoyable, informative tour of the Merchant Hotel in Belfast. Gillian Adams, Executive Assistant, along with her colleagues, kindly welcomed us and guided us around this luxurious AA5 Red Star hotel. We were escorted around the magnificent Great Room Restaurant, through the Cocktail Bar and into what was the old vault of the original Ulster Bank, which is now the billiard room. We also visited two contrasting bedrooms, one in the Art Deco area of the hotel, the other, a suite, in the Victorian section of the building. The staff talked pupils through many aspects of the tourism industry including operations and employment opportunities at the hotel. Gillian then answered our many questions which illustrated many areas of the AS course. We also visited the Belfast Welcome Centre, where Dermot Owens explained what the purpose of the Welcome Centre was, the job opportunities there and told us about visitor numbers and trends. The visits were extremely useful and we extend our thanks to Gillian and Dermot who took the time to meet us.