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Tourism News

Profits fall at 70% of Irish family businesses
Recession has hit Irish family businesses hard with 70% reporting a drop in profits this year. That compares with 35% in 2009, a PwC report has found, while over 60% of the firms have no succession plans in place. Irish family businesses have been hit nearly twice as hard compared to their global counterparts. It has meant nearly three-quarters of Irish family firms have seen their operating profits fall over the last year compared to just a third globally, according to the global report.
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Cold weather costing businesses €630m a week
The recent cold snap cost Irish businesses around €630m a week, according to a survey from employers group, IBEC. It found that absenteeism is costing €170m a week, retailers are losing €170m a week, other service providers are losing €200m a week and losses to manufacturers is running at €130m. IBEC Director of Policy, Brendan Butler said: "This is one of busiest times of year for companies and the adverse weather has had a very negative impact on production, sales and cash flow. While the cost has been substantial, it would have significantly higher were it not for the improved response from Government and local authorities."
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Travel and Tourism Statistics
The following table shows trips made to Ireland in quarter 1 to 3 between 2009 - 2010 and indicates where the visitors came from.
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Travel News

Stena Line New Routes
Stena Line has signed an agreement with DFDS to acquire its Belfast to Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Belfast to Heysham routes. The acquisition, which amounts to €47.5M, will enable Stena Line to improve its service on the Irish Sea by offering several different alternatives for transportation between Ireland and Great Britain.
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New services from Belfast City
Low cost airline bmibaby has announced it will commence flying from George Best Belfast City Airport to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and East Midlands Airport from 1 January 2011. bmibaby will move its operation from Belfast International Airport to Belfast City Airport, in a move to offer more convenient services to passengers wishing to travel into Belfast.
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Fastnet Line Smashes 2010 Figures
Over 80,000 passengers have traveled aboard the ferry between Swansea and Cork since it took to the water again earlier this year- about four times the capacity of the Liberty Stadium. Figures show ferry operator Fastnet Line has smashed its target for 2010 and that 31,000 vehicles have been transported across the Irish Sea along the route since the start of March. The statistics also suggest a significant boost for the Swansea Bay economy with about 40% of all passengers so far travelling out of Cork and into Swansea.
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Fall in Aer Lingus passengers
Aer Lingus has reported a year on year decrease of almost 16 per cent in passenger numbers for November. The number of people carried by the airline fell from 776,000 in November 2009 to 653,000 last month. Short haul passenger numbers fell 17.5 per cent to 581,000, while long haul numbers were unchanged at 72,000.
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Recipe

Plum & Almond Tart
Serves 6-8
Pastry
180g butter
75g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
225g plain flour

Filling
100g soft butter
150g sugar
100g amaretto biscuits
200g ground almonds
4 egg yolks
16 plums, approx., cut in half, stones removed, sliced.

Directions
To make the pastry:
In the processor, mix the butter, icing sugar and egg together. Add in the flour. Gather up the pastry and chill for an hour.
To make the filling:
Also in the processor, mix the butter, sugar, biscuits, ground almonds and egg yolks.
Set the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180C (350F). Roll out the pastry to line a 28cm diameter x 3cm deep tart tin. Chill for 10 minutes. Pour in filling mixture. Place the plum slices on top and sprinkle with extra tablesp. sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes until completely set and nicely browned.

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Brain Teaser

PENT
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BOOR
answer

Final Thought

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