I spent a day traveling from Dublin to Birmingham, UK and back again this month. In truth, I never made it past the airport complex, but what I saw there left a real impression on me.The flights were kind of a throwback, to be fair, shuttle busses to airplanes parked on the tarmac, climbing portable air stairs in the morning wind and afternoon rain.
The impressive part started after I landed. There is a Disneyland style monorail that takes you on a one-stop free ride to a major transit hub, including local and intercity trains and busses. Then there is the Resorts World complex, hotels, casino, shopping, restaurants. Then there is the National Experience Center, 2,000,000 square feet of exhibition halls plus conference and meeting spaces. It’s not just a business venue, it’s full of performance spaces and family-friendly experiences.
It’s not all great, there is lots of walking on moving sidewalks that don’t always move and probably not enough parking if you arrive by car, but it is the most seamless experience I’ve every had for an event of this kind. To do something similar in a number of other cities I can think of would require a lot more local transit time and cost almost as much in ground transportation as in airfare. It made the difference between taking the trip and not.
Why make a one-day trip from Ireland to England? I was joining 22,000 other people attending the largest quilt show and exhibition in Europe. More details on that over at The Rest Of My Time.