Castle Ward Caravan Park Still Claiming 4Star NITB Status

NdTNI - National disTrust of National Trust Northern Ireland Policy

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Over at whatdotheyknow.com, what seems to have been a perfectly legitimate Freedom of Information request was asked of the NITB, which was why the Northern Ireland Tourist Board was condoning the serious misrepresentation actions of the National Trust Castle Ward Caravan Park?

To be fair, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board responded by saying: 'NITB does not condone ‘serious misrepresentation actions’ by any organisation and have not condoned the issue of a letter by Castleward Caravan Park claiming they had received their four star rating.'

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board then went on to say: 'NITB’s standard procedure and protocol, in relation to any tourist accommodation claiming they have a star rating which they don’t have, is to initially instruct the premises by telephone to remove all reference to this. If appropriate, NITB will follow this up in writing giving a deadline by which this must be done. If the premises refuses to do so, NITB will issue a final written warning and liaise with its legal team to discuss legal action. As soon as NITB was made aware that Castleward Caravan Park had issued a letter referring to a grading which they did not have, we investigated this matter by contacting both the independent assessor and Castleward Caravan Park directly. Castleward Caravan Park advised us that the letter they issued was incorrect and confirmed that this should not have contained any reference to the grading which they hope to achieve later this year. In this instance, NITB has determined that no further action is required at this time. However, as mentioned previously, NITB will monitor the situation and take appropriate action when necessary.'

The National Trust have just begun advertising for a 'Caravan and Accommodations Supervisor' for Castle Ward, and online under 'DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE' it would appear that amongst other duties, the successful applicant will be accountable for: 'Castle Ward caravan/ campsite (NITB 4 star) Castle Ward Base Camp, Castle Ward Holiday Cottages (Potters Cottage NITB 4 star, Downpatrick Gate Lodge NITB 3 star, Murlough Cottage, Murlough Gate Lodge)'

'However, as mentioned previously, NITB will monitor the situation and take appropriate action when necessary.'

Perhaps therefore, being aware of the repeated false claim of the National Trust, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board would now care to comment on this further act of blatant misrepresentaion by the National Trust or is it the case that the previous blog posting 'Why Do We Need The Northern Ireland Tourist Board When We Have The National Trust?' really does say it all? Who does need the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, certainly not the National Trust Tourist Board!

No, we are not going to raise the subject of the aforementioned Potters Cottage NITB 4 Star Rating, or the Downpatrick Gate Lodge NITB 3 Star Rating, preferring to assume, rightly or wrongly, that even the National Trust Senior Management are not that stupid.

2 Star or NOT 2 Star? NOT CastleWard Caravan Park

NdTNI - National disTrust of National Trust Northern Ireland Policy

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The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has confirmed the Castle Ward Caravan Park as owned and operated by the National Trust, does NOT have the 4 Star Northern Ireland Tourist Board Rating that the National Trust proclaimed they were so delighted to have received back in December 2010.

Since then the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has also confirmed that the aforementioned National Trust owned and operated Castle Ward Caravan Park did NOT have a 2 Star Northern Ireland Tourist Board Rating either, NOT for many years, since 2004 to be more precise. This despite the fact the National Trust has been proudly displaying their Northern Ireland Tourist Board 2 Star Rating at the offending Castle Ward Caravan Park as the two photographs taken in January 2011, clearly show.

Whether in the eyes of the law this is blatant fraud or not remains to be seen, many tourists though rightly allegedly believe they were at best misled by the National Trust for the sole purpose of financial gain, since 2004. Last year the 60% increase in fees was allegedly to bring the prices in line with other comparable sites in the area. Where are these other UNGRADED, UNRATED comparable sites in the area?

And what about the part played by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in this nasty little plot to allegedly deceive tourists? The NITB are fully aware of the fact unsuspecting innocent tourists are now alleging fraud, that they were conned into believing the CastleWard Caravan Park had been 2 Star Graded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board when it hadn't for many years, and furthermore they were then led to believe the CastleWard Caravan Park had received a 4 Star Northern Ireland Tourist Board Grading for 2011.

Should the Northern Ireland Tourist Board now fully explain the reasons that has led them to be satisfied with this despicable treatment of TOURISTS by the National Trust in Northern Ireland? Yes!

Should campers and caravan owners who have been paying customers of the National Trust Castle Ward Caravan Park now receive a full unreserved public apology from the National Trust? Yes!

Should campers and caravan owners who have been paying customers of the National Trust Castle Ward Caravan Park now have their fees returned, and receive financial compensation from the National Trust? Yes!

Why Do We Need The Northern Ireland Tourist Board When We Have The National Trust?

Northern Ireland Tourists disTrust National disTrust

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Over at what do they know . com an obviously already irate tourist now seems to have taken umbrage with the response he received to a Freedom of Information request. In light of the ongoing saga of the National Trust having claimed they had received a Northern Ireland Tourist Board 4Star Rating for their CastleWard Caravan Park which turned out to have been totally untrue, a more than valid question was asked of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board by the aforementioned irate tourist.

What action had asked the irate tourist, would the Northern Ireland Tourist Board be taking against the National Trust for falsely claiming they had received a 4Star NITB grading when they clearly had not, and the existence of an alleged 2Star NITB Rating had also been questioned. In reply the NITB stated the Manager of the CastleWard Caravan Park, had been spoken to, and he had confirmed that the email they issued should not have included any reference to a star rating and that they would not be issuing any documentation or promoting a star rating until an inspection has taken place and an official notification of a star rating has been given.

Not exactly what the National Trust clarification email/letter from of 19th January 2011 said with lashings of ambiguity, and what about the new site updates that hadn't materialised either?

Nonetheless the Northern Ireland Tourist Board say they are now satisfied that this matter has now been resolved, which is all very well, but are any of the many irate tourists satisfied, many of whom feel they have been conned by the National Trust? No, they most certainly are not in the least satisfied with the stance taken by the allegedly toothless feeble Northern Ireland Tourist Board, but then again, what exactly can the NITB actually do about the allegedly all powerful National Trust?

Very soon, some suspect the National Trust will achieve what they've been allegedly rumoured to be allegedly vying for, the demise of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, after all, who needs the NITB when the National Trust is allegedly rumoured to be allegedly promoting itself as the alternative. A relaxing walk through our pleasant countryside would, it might be alleged, very soon be affordable only by those rich enough to pay the exorbitant 'air that I breathe' fees as would allegedly be imposed by the new regime. Not such an exaggeration some might say, for haven't they already allegedly taken over a sizeable portion of the Province, so what or who will stop them from capturing the remaining few acres, and the air that we breathe?

In their response to the aforementioned Freedom of Information request the Northern Ireland Tourist Board more than once refers to the offending Castle Ward Caravan Park as 'premises' which leads us the website of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board where it states: 'Under the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, all 'premises' in Northern Ireland offering tourist accommodation must be certified by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB).'

The NITB furthermore declares: 'NITB aims to provide advice and guidance to encourage world class visitor servicing in the tourism industry. This includes delivering a level of service which meets and exceeds the expectations of all visitors. This also involves the provision of excellent information and facilities.'

Fine noble words from an organisation allegedly losing the battle for supremacy of the Northern Ireland Tourism Policy, and does the provision of excellent information and facilities translate into the National Trust being given carte blanche to falsely claim during December 2010: 'As a result of a number of site updates Castle Ward is delighted to have received a Northern Ireland Tourist Board 4 Star Caravan Park Rating. New site updates include the following: Improvement of shower facilities (now separate female cubicles), New laundry facilities (token operated washer and tumble dryers), New indoor hot water washroom facilities, A small onsite shop. A new wide entrance with one way system for easy access, A new drive-on drainage post for camper vans’

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board, is an organisation that surely has, if not a legal duty to protect unsuspecting innocent tourists from alleged shysters, from wherever they might appear, most certainly they should have an alleged moral duty to do so, though before passing judgement it would most likely be prudent to establish if in fact they had any morals.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board Rating Scheme has been shown to be nothing more than a meaningless worthless charade not to be trusted by any right thinking tourist. Can we ever again Trust the Northern Ireland Tourist Board?