PicTours, a provider of phone photography tours for Transition Year students in Ireland, has recently announced the closure of its operations in Limerick and Galway. This decision, effective immediately, affects schools that relied on PicTours for their unique, immersive learning experiences outside the classroom. However, the company’s operations in Cork and Dublin will continue as usual, offering some continuity for schools in those regions.
What Are Transition Year Tours?
In Ireland, Transition Year (TY) is a one-year program that offers students the chance to explore various subjects and life skills before entering their final years of secondary education. TY Pictours offered a change to get hands on photography experience with the smartphone in your pocket, while visiting famous sights, all on a walking tour.
The Closure: What Happened?
The decision to close the Limerick and Galway operations was due to the lack of finding the right staff that could fulfill the tour brief for students.
Conor Mulloy, the Founder of PicTours, acknowledged the impact of this decision and left open the possibility of future changes. “”We had to close our Limerick and Galway locations because we couldn’t find the right staff to keep things running smoothly. But we’re definitely going to look into reopening for the 2025/2026 academic year”.
Despite these closures, PicTours’ operations in Cork and Dublin remain unaffected, allowing schools in these areas to continue planning and enjoying their Transition Year tours as usual. The continued availability of tours in these major cities provides a critical resource for schools still seeking high-quality, educational excursions.
Looking Ahead: Possibilities for Reopening
The possibility of PicTours re-opening its Limerick and Galway operations for the 2025/2026 academic year provides some optimism for the future. If PicTours can address the challenges that led to the closure, there is a chance that these popular tours could return, potentially in a more sustainable and improved format. Schools and students would certainly welcome this development, as it would restore access to the unique and educational experiences that PicTours was known for.
In the meantime, PicTours has expressed its commitment to supporting the affected schools during this transition, offering assistance in finding alternative solutions. The long-term effects of this closure on the Transition Year experience in these regions remain to be seen, but the company’s openness to revisiting the decision suggests that the story is not yet over.
