The Minister for Tourism, Catherine Martin, stated there is no legal mechanism outside the planning process to lift the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, stressing she believes the process must proceed without political interference.
She noted the different constraints at Dublin Airport compared to Shannon and Cork, highlighting potential growth opportunities for regional tourism as many visitors to Dublin often travel westward.
The minister mentioned that over 70pc of tourism employment in Ireland is concentrated in the regions, advocating for increased marketing efforts to promote Shannon and Cork as destinations.
She shared: “Research is pointing to about 38pc of visitors when they come to Dublin, land in Dublin, they go west. So I think there is an opportunity here that could be a win-win for regional tourism. More than 70pc of the more than 250,000 people employed in tourism are in the regions. So we need to look at really marketing and assisting Shannon and Cork to be seen as destinations.
Catherine Martin emphasized the need for Budget support for the tourism sector, including funding for marketing, product development, and recruitment, while highlighting that decisions on hospitality VAT rates will be made by the Minister for Finance.
She shared: “We did that as a temporary measure during Covid at a cost of €1.2 billion and this is something that the cost to bring it to hospitality, is something that the minister is looking at. Of course it is being discussed at Government, but ultimately it is a matter for the Minister for Finance [Jack Chambers].”
The Irish Travel Industry Confederation conference in Dublin attracted 300 leading tourism professionals to the Dublin Royal convention centre to hear the major issues of concern to the industry being discussed.
