- Call for €20m investment fund
- Wants urgent measures in the Budget
- autumn campaign is in full swing to promote late season holidays and boost travel
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation says latest tourism figures showing a second month of falling tourist numbers on the back of a slump in the British market are a massive cause for alarm. ITIC believes the Government needs to introduce urgent measures in the Budget to arrest the decline in British tourists, which have fallen by 7.1pc so far this year.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of ITIC, said: “The figures are a stark warning to the Government that our tourism industry is already being hit by Brexit and unless something is done the number of visitors coming to our country from our largest market will continue to decline. Tourism is Ireland’s largest indigenous industry employing 228,000 people nationwide. The Government must introduce new measures in the upcoming Budget that will both defend the English market and help diversify into new markets.”
O’Mara Walsh and ITIC Chariman Maurice Pratt have already called for a €20m investment fund to help Brexit-proof the sector. And he warned against touching the 9pc rate of VAT for the tourism sector, arguing that it “puts Ireland’s tourism VAT rate in line with the rest of Europe and any change would damage our competitiveness and damage value for money at the worst possible time”.
Tourism Ireland is also worried about the British market. “The decline in visitor numbers from Britain continues to be a real concern,” said CEO Niall Gibbons. “The fall in the value of sterling has made holidays and short breaks here more expensive for English visitors and made England more affordable for visitors from many of our top markets. “Tourism Ireland’s extensive autumn campaign is in full swing to promote late season holidays and boost travel into the early part of 2018. We are rolling out a really comprehensive promotional programme in England and around the world right now.”
Irish Tourist Industry Confederation Chairman Maurice Pratt and Chief Executive Eoghan O’Mara Walsh outside the Dáil
We received 6,714,600 overseas visitors during the period January to August this year. This represents growth of 2.5pc – or 161,800 additional visitors – on the same eight-month period last year, coming on the back of a record performance in 2016 and years of solid growth in overseas tourism. North America and our long-haul markets continue to perform very well. Arrivals from North America are up 17.9pc for January to August; and visitors from Australia and Developing Markets grew by 16.9pc in the same period. Arrivals from mainland Europe also grew by 3.2pc. Increases in direct air access, plus our market diversification strategy, have been key factors.”
