Seven-star alumnus returns to college

ONE of the Shannon College of Hotel Management’s most illustrious alumnus, Gerald Lawless, came back to his alma mater last Thursday, for this year’s graduation ceremony.
Mr Lawless is currently Executive Chairman of one of the world’s top hotel groups, the Jumeriah Group. Based in Dubai, the group is regarded as one of the most luxurious and innovative hotel and resort groups in the world and among its flagship operations is the renowned Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel, which is regularly described as the world’s only seven-star hotel.
He said that his years in Shannon had been very positive for his career.
“One thing I’ve always said about Shannon, and I was here from ’71-’75, is it instilled great self belief and confidence in the students. At that time we had to be a year out of school before coming then we worked in the airport kitchens for the summer. Then we had a year in Shannon, I spent a year in Switzerland in Geneva which was an amazing experience, came back for a very good finance and administration programme and the final year was spent in the UK with the final few months spent here to do our dissertation. It always had the self image of being the best and wanting to ensure that graduates went into industry in a very confident way.”
He said that Ireland is in the process of becoming competitive once again. “The high cost of oil is a deterrent because it puts up the price of travel, but if the euro softens, as it has in the last few days, it’s good for foreign tourists because they can buy the product cheaper.
“Watch Greece, whatever happens a lot of people will start going there on holiday once things settle down because it has a fantastic product and it’s a lot cheaper. The same with Ireland, it’s getting jobs from abroad because it’s competitive again.”
He also said that the international image of Ireland is also improving.
“The perception of Ireland is much more positive today than what it was. As hard as it is for so many people across Ireland today to appreciate, the international community is looking on with admiration at how the economy is being turned around and this is important. It is a significant change from what the perception was a few years ago.
“It is, I am sure, a slow and painful process but it is working. We have seen that with the jobs announcements over recent months and more will come. At a tourism level, Ireland is also better value now and that’s a significant turning point as it may not have been as competitive as what it was. I see the tourism industry here continuing to recover over the coming years.”
He said it is important that Ireland is made accessible to people from countries such as China, India and Russia.
Also at the graduation, Shannon College of Hotel Management director Philip Smyth said that the Irish hospitality industry is recovering the natural charm for international tourists.
“Unfortunately during the Celtic Tiger era we seemed to lose much of the natural charm that endeared Ireland so much to international tourists. Whether it was because we felt we didn’t need to deliver the same welcome we were renowned for or we were just too busy to, we just lost some of that unique sense of Irish hospitality but I’m happy to say we are regaining it.
“In its simplest terms, international visitors come here to see and experience Ireland, not Europe, not somewhere else. In Germany you get German culture, in France the French culture, etc. In Ireland you should get the Irish culture and luckily for us, there is hardly a better culture in the world and it’s often what specifically brings people to Ireland. And if it’s what works for us, we should serve it up on a plate.”
Of the 62 students who graduate, 25 were from abroad and Mr Smyth told the gathering that Ireland must capitalise on the potential of international education in the years ahead to help make up the shortfall elsewhere in education funding.
“Expansion of the international education programme at Irish institutions is critical as it is inevitable that exchequer funding for third level education is going to be severely constrained for some time and international revenue will help to fill the gap.”