The world has changed a great deal since Noel Murphy founded Celtic Tours in 1972. At that time, there were very few tour operators taking Americans to Ireland. Now if you google “tours to Ireland”, you will get about 90 million results. Of course, that doesn’t mean there are 90 million tour operators, but good luck to the online browser who wants to find a good one.

“When I first started, there were only three or four major tour operators to Ireland and, if you google now, you will find 20 or 30 of them,” says Kathy Writer, Celtic Tours’ senior vice president, who has worked for Celtic Tours for 20 years. “The biggest [challenge] now is just having more and more competition. It’s a tougher market. But I find that, because we’ve been doing it so long and we’ve got such a solid staff of people who have been here five to 12 years or even longer, it shows in everything we do.”

Kathy Writer’s memories of Celtic Tours actually go much farther back than the 20 years she has been an employee. Her first memories of Celtic Tours go back to when she was 4 years old.

“Noel [Murphy], the owner, he’s my stepfather,” says Writer, “so I’ve been officially in the business for the past 20 years, but I was licking envelopes in the office since I was 12 or 13. I’ve really been here longer than the 20 years.”

Writer is a “tour operator brat,” one of a select group of people who have grown up in a family whose business was tour operation.

“Through high school, I would pop in after school for part-time work,” says Writer. “As an adult, I traveled a lot until I was 27, then, 20 years ago, I moved here and started officially in the office.”

The changes created by the Internet and other technological and social phenomena have created challenges for all businesses, and tour operators are no exception. In a vastly more competitive market than the one in which it began, Celtic Tours maintains its niche by offering what an experienced, established tour operation can that takes years to build.

PHOTO: Founder Noel Murphy noticed an increase in visitors to Ireland and wanted to try his hand at tours around the country.

Origins and Expansions
When Noel Murphy, a native of Dublin, Ireland, first got into the tour business in 1972, he was the owner of a construction company in Ireland that specialized in restoring Georgian buildings. He noticed that incoming tourism was on the rise and decided to try his hand at providing the kinds of programs he would want if he was the tourist.

“Demand for group travel to Ireland and the U.K. was increasing,” says Murphy. “Very few companies had good itineraries that explained the history and culture of Ireland in particular. As I had majored in both and knew the landscape very well, I felt I could provide something that would show not only the past history and culture, but also the current status of historical events.”

Murphy founded Celtic Tours as a regional operator of tours to Ireland, then two years later he took it nationally. Gradually, the company expanded its offerings across the U.K., including England, Scotland and Wales, and into Europe, with packages for Italy, Germany, France and Holland, as well as some programs for travel to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti as well as a selection of European river cruises.

The company has expanded its offerings based on its relationships with the travel agents it has built its business on.

“The reason for expanding is that the travel agent who has dealt with us in the past and wants to continue dealing with us,” says Writer. “They know what kind of product level we put out. That’s what they’ve come to know and like the staff here. That’s who they want to call on. They know our policies and procedures and how we do things. Whether it’s Ireland or Scotland or Italy, they know it’s handled the same way across the board.”

In 2013, the company introduced a series of tours and packages for Wales that portray the country as a land of “magic, myth and dragons,” focusing on its history, its 641 castles, ancient walls and dungeons. It is offering a range of accommodations, including country inns and manor homes.

The company also offers a series of sports programs for soccer, rugby and American football events in Europe, as well as for special events such as the Irish Derby, English Derby and Royal Ascot. Celtic is also expanding into Russia and reviewing some other destinations for possible expansion.

The company has expanded its destinations moderately, while keeping a tight focus on Ireland and Britain. With the expansion in destinations it has changed its name to Celtic Tours World Vacations.

On an independent or group level, the company offers travel to a wide range of destinations, such as Poland and Russia, on an ad hoc basis.

“Even though we have grown, we like to keep a strong handle on everything we put out there, because it does have our name on it and we want to make sure it stays in line with how we operate,” says Writer. “We don’t just work with anyone. If we’re working with a destination company we are very particular. We want that company to treat our customers the way we treat them. If it’s Scotland or Ireland, we are our own operator, but if we are working with a DMC in Italy and they’ve been fabulous and have gone beyond taking care of our customers, that is what we look for. We’re fortunate that way, but it takes a lot of work to find the right match.”

Ireland, Italy and the U.K. are the company’s main destinations. But, as Writer notes, the company “started adding more European product this year — Prague and Vienna, Bucharest and Warsaw, mostly escorted tours. We added a small Germany and Switzerland package.”

The company’s major root remains Ireland and its premier product is its “Celtic Dream” tour, a 12- or 13-day program that circles the island, providing a well-rounded experience of Ireland with stops in Dublin, Belfast, Donegal, Galway, Limerick, Killarney, Blarney, Cobh, Waterford and Kilkenny. The tour visits Mellifont Abbey, Titanic Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, Glenveagh Castle and National Park, Slieve League Cliffs, Belleek China, Cliffs of Moher, Cobh, Kilkenny Castle and Trinity College.

New Products for 2014
Among Celtic Tours’ new tours for 2014 is its new “Elegant Ireland” tour, a high-end luxury tour that uses five-star properties and carries a maximum of 28 people per departure. The tour targets the increasing demand for high-end tours. The company has worked with luxury-level hotels before with independent travel, but this is the first time it has been incorporated into an escorted product.

“We’ve always been kind of high-end, with upper, superior-level hotels,” says Writer, “but, now. we’re incorporating castles and manor homes into an escorted tour, which is a first for us after 42 years.”

Celtic is now offering guaranteed departures to Germany and Switzerland. Offerings include a 14-night “Romantic Germany and Picturesque Switzerland” program with a broad sightseeing itinerary that includes Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Oberammergau, Innsbruck, Munich, Luzern, Interlaken, Bern, Geneva, Zermatt, Lugano, Lake Como, St. Moritz and Zurich.

Also offered is an eight-day “Magical Switzerland” escorted tour that visits Zurich, Luzern, Mount Titlis, Interlaken, Bern, Gruyeres, Geneva, Montreux and Zermatt.

In addition, the tour operator recently added a nine-day “Highlights of Austria” program and an eight-day Russia itinerary.

Celtic also offers rail tours, self-drive programs and city stays.

Another new addition is the company’s travel agent loyalty program, Perk Points, which provides a way for travel agents to earn points for bookings. The points are worth $1 each and can be used for free travel or to reduce prices on tours booked. For information, see www.celtictours.com/perkpoints.

True to Form
Celtic Tours relies on the network of travel agent relationships it has built over 42 years to help consumers sort through the nearly infinite choices offered on the Internet to find something reputable, safe and of high quality.

“It does help having been doing this for 42 years versus four years,” says Writer. “That says something about a company when somebody calls to book and doesn’t necessarily want to go with a company that just opened its doors yesterday.”

Celtic Tours has adapted to the challenge of the Internet by holding true to its roots as a provider of personal service. “There is much more competition today,” said Writer. “I’ve seen more operators pop up in Ireland over the past 10 years, and it has had some impact on things. But luckily enough we’ve been doing this work a long time and have an excellent following, and so we still hold our own. We have a great brand, a great staff, an excellent work ethic. It works well and it comes across.”