|
|
|
|
|
Citywest makes a splash with Titanic exhibition
20 December 2009 By Michelle Devane
Businessman Jim Mansfield expects more than 400,000 people to visit an exhibition of Titanic artefacts at his Citywest Hotel in Dublin over the coming six months.
Mansfield said that the exhibition, Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition – Real Objects, Real Stories, to Ireland, would be a boost to business after a difficult trading year. The event, which opened yesterday at Citywest, features more than 300 items recovered from the wreck of the vessel and has already been attended by about 22 million people around the world.
Mansfield said it had taken about nine months to secure the exhibition’s Irish opening. It is only the third time the show has been held at an event centre rather than a museum: the other exceptions were Madison Square Garden in New York and Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
‘‘We’re expecting huge interest from the public," said Mansfield.
‘‘The ship was built in Belfast, and there are people from Cork who had relatives on board, so people from across the country will be visiting the exhibition. They’ll want to stay in the hotel."
Mansfield said that occupancy levels at Citywest were high for December, but added that they ‘‘weren’t high enough’’ throughout 2009 as a whole.
‘‘We’d like them to be higher," he said. ‘‘But we’ve done well and had a good level of conferences. We’ve had a lot of Christmas parties, with only one cancelled, so there’s a bit of money out there.
‘‘Trading is quite good now, because we have the exhibition and Disney On Ice. We’re opening on Christmas Day this year, and we’ll have over 400 people for Christmas dinner. The events are great, because there are no conferences at this time of year."
The Titanic exhibition focuses on the human stories of the ship’s passengers and includes recreations of the first and third-class cabins, the ship’s cargo hold and boiler room.
Items in the exhibition include a top hat, a gentleman’s spectacles, papers and money, the Titanic Bell, the steering wheel, the officers’ window and china from all three classes. Tickets for the exhibition, which runs until June, are available at www.titanicdublin.com
|
|
|
