Long-standing Irish tour operator returns after Covid-19 collapse - with a full schedule and a new name
Business

Long-standing Irish tour operator returns after Covid-19 collapse - with a full schedule and a new name

A LONG-STANDING Irish travel firm which was forced to close at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic has returned to the market.

Founded by Mayo native Gerry Flynn in 1990, Blackburn-based Enjoy Travel specialised in providing package holidays which include Irish entertainment in sunspots around Europe.

In May 2020, as the pandemic hit Britain, the family-run firm was forced to shut its doors as the travel ban imposed due to Covid-19 had crippled the business.

Speaking at the time Mr Flynn, told The Irish Post: “The timing of Covid-19 could not have been worse,” he added, “with over 1200 people due to travel to a number of our overseas events between April and June, all of which have now been cancelled.”

He further explained that his decision to close the firm after more than 30 years in business was driven by his determination to secure refunds for his loyal customers.

“The savage destruction meted out to the travel and entertainment industries is without parallel and Enjoy Travel is totally immersed in both,” Mr Flynn, who hails from Ballina, said in a message to those customers at the time.

“This means that the future of the company is now untenable, but because we are fully licensed with the appropriate insurance bodies you will get your money back.

“In order to trigger this and after seeking appropriate professional advice, we must now cease trading,” he explained.

Now, more than a year later, Mr Flynn has informed his former customers that the business is back up and running – albeit under the new name, Gerry Flynn Events.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to be able to sit here and write a good news story for a change,” he said this week, after returning from the firm’s first organised holiday in Blackpool.

“After eighteen long dreary and indeed worrisome months, we gathered at the Parkhouse Hotel in Blackpool in the latter part of September for three whole days of meeting and greeting friends that we have not seen for such a long time.”

He added: “This, my dear friends, is the beginning of a new era in music and dance holidays and as always the emphasis will continue to be on providing quality music in a location that is always conducive to great holiday enjoyment, sprinkled with a little of that magic dust that you always seem to bring when you travel away with us.”

For the full schedule of Gerry Flynn Events holidays planned for 2022 visit www.gerryflynnevents.co.uk