Tourist SOS – announcing the new name for the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS)
May 3rd 2024
Tourist SOS CEO Lisa Kennedy, chair Gina Murphy (Hugos Restaurant) and board member Conor O’Kane (Clayton Hotels) – along with Paul Kelly, CEO of Failte Ireland, a key sponsor of Tourist SOS.
The new name, Tourist SOS, is intended to be easier to understand and remember for visitors as well as those in the tourism and hospitality industries who are often the first point of contact for tourists in distress.
The service will continue to help international visitors when issues arise, such as lost passports, accidents or crime and ensure they can get their trip back on track as soon as possible. This service is unique to Ireland – no other European country offers this type of nationwide support to visitors.
“We encourage everyone in the industry to spread the word about Tourist SOS among their colleagues and staff” said Gina Murphy, Chairperson of Tourist SOS and proprietor of Hugo’s restaurant in Dublin. “It’s important to direct visitors to the service when they need it, so they can receive information and support to help them replace missing passports, cancel bank/credit cards, reschedule flights, report an incident to the Gardai, or deal with other challenges that they may face”
“Thankfully relatively few visitors to Ireland experience such problems, and of the small numbers who do, 9 in 10 will continue their holiday after receiving support from Tourist SOS – a testament to the effectiveness of this great service.
Tourist SOS CEO Lisa Kennedy also announced the launch of a new website - www.touristsos.ie – that will provide information and advice to distressed tourists in multiple languages. Lisa said, “We are especially pleased that the new website also has a separate section for frontline staff in the industry on best practice when dealing with visitors who experience such issues, which of course includes referring them to Tourist SOS for support.
The dedicated and experienced Tourist SOS team is available to support international visitors 7 days a week.
Monday – Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sundays and National Holidays: 12pm-6pm
Tourist SOS can be contacted on 01-661 0562, WhatsApp 087 476 9402 or email info@touristsos.ie