- Fáilte Ireland launched a three-year strategy to grow tourism.
- The strategy targets a 7% increase in domestic revenue.
- The plan focuses on spreading tourism to regions outside Dublin.
- One in 10 people in Ireland are employed directly in tourism.
- American visitors are staying half a day longer than previously.
Fáilte Ireland has laun ched a three-year strategy to grow tourism and increase domestic revenue by 7pc. CEO Caroline Bocquel stated the plan is to spread tourism more evenly across the country outside the capital, focusing on regions that don’t currently have a lot of tourism and more evenly through the year, including shoulder seasons and off-peak periods. The strategy also aims to make 46,000 tourism SMEs more competitive, focusing on lowering costs and developing digital capability.
Bocquel stated that one in 10 people in Ireland are employed directly in tourism, which is a huge economic engine. The 7% revenue target will be achieved through spreading tourism into regions such as Hidden Heartlands and Ireland’s Ancient East, which have lots of capacity for more tourism development. Recent investment will result in hundreds of new businesses and products for people to enjoy.
Bocquel noted that American visitors are staying half a day longer than previously, and the longer visitors can be kept in regions, the better. She stated Ireland has never been a low-cost destination but offers value, and that there is opportunity for “coolcations” as people want to escape intense summer heat. She noted that 75pc of people spend a night in Dublin, so if they can’t get a night in Dublin they can’t get to the region.
Caroline Bocquel, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, shared, “Ireland has never been a low-cost destination. But what we do want to be is to be the most rewarding place to holiday.”
