Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference (THRIC) 2026
It is hard to know where to start!
What a few days we had last week in the TU Dublin School of Tourism and Hospitality Management hosting THRIC 2026. It was great welcoming regular attendees to THRIC and also meeting new researchers who are joining our community.
The conference theme was Shaping tomorrow: Navigating change in tourism and Hospitality and Professor Nigel Morgan highlighted how we as academics can take agency to create change in a world where it is easy to feel powerless. Jane Stacey, Head of Tourism Policy and Analysis at the OECD and Caeman Wall, Head of Research, Fáilte Ireland gave us valuable and interesting insights into international and national trends, Grainne Walshe, Research Ireland, highlighted research funding opportunities and Dr Deirdre Curran and Olaiwola Ogunpaimo, University of Galway, focused on the important issue of hospitality workplaces. Thank you all for your valuable contributions.
Thank you also to the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Ray McAdam, Dr. Deirdre Lillis, President of TU Dublin and Gerard Howlin, Chair of TU Dublin Governing Body, for opening the conference for us.
A key objective of the conference was to create an environment in which delegates could identify a way in which they could create change, Ziene Mottiar led a conversation with Olivia Duff, Louise Fitzpatrick, Michael Griffin and Michael McDermott where they provided huge inspiration for the audience and we identified clear learning from their experiences for us to take away.
We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their wonderful support:
Dublin Port
Rathbornes 1488 Candles
Pearse Lyons Distillery
OSCARS Bar
Roe & Co Distillery
Our thanks also go to L Mulligan Grocer of Stoneybatter for hosting a wonderful conference dinner and for their warm hospitality.
Running THRIC has been a mammoth task undertaken by Ziene Mottiar, Theresa Ryan, Raymond Keaney, Emma O'Brien, Geraldine Gorham, Jennie Hussey, Ann Teresa Conway, John Ryan, Bernadette Quinn, Kevin Griffin, Vanessa Santos and Ruth Craggs.
We are so pleased to see all the hard work resulting in such an incredible two days that we really enjoyed having with you all, focusing on tourism - discussing, exploring, generating ideas,thinking forward and identifying actions.
Above all, thank you to everyone who attended, presented, chaired sessions and contributed to the discussions. Your engagement, generosity and collegial spirit made Tourism & Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference (THRIC) 2026 an enormous success. It was a pleasure to welcome you to the TU Dublin School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
THRIC is definitely back as a regular event in our diaries and we are already looking forward to THRIC2028 in UU Susann Power.