- Ross: ‘The figures speak for themselves’
- Visits to the island are up 11pc
- 10.5m people will visit Ireland by end of this year
- Maketing plans to counter Brexit
- Watch here new TV ad
Tourism Minister Shane Ross hit back at his critics during the Tourism Ireland announcement of their marketing plans for 2017 and said there is“no evidence to suggest that he is funder performing as tourism minister.
Speaking at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans for 2017, Ross said “the figures speak for themselves” when asked whether he had been active enough as minister for tourism.
Some of the focus of the question and answer session was set by Dalata deputy chief Stephen McNally recently stated that Minister Ross did not get the industry like his predecessors, Paschal Donohoe and Leo Varadkar.
Ross responded: “any criticism that I am not spending enough (time) in the tourist portfolio are complete and utter nonsense. There is simply no evidence produced by anybody to support that. I think that the figures speak for themselves. I think it’s absolutely straightforward. We’ve got a record year for tourism which is something which we’re very, very proud of. I think we’ll probably have a record year next year, which we’re very proud of as well.
- On Dublin’s chronic hotel room shortage, which reached crisis levels in September with hotels 94pc full, Minister Ross said he expected the problem to be resolved in 2019 or 2020 when an additional 5,500 rooms will become available.
- Regulating the shared economy giant Airbnb which recently launched a tourist excursion service Minister Ross said “that’s not my department” and said it was the job of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney, to answer questions on it.
- On Brexit, Minister Ross said the government was “working day and night on several contingency plans. We will have to see how Brexit works out. We are considering models for all sorts of eventualities on Brexit and when we see how it works out, we’ll use the appropriate model.”
Tourism Ireland announced that 10.5m people will visit Ireland by end of this year, an increase of 11pc compared to the same 12-month period last year. In 2017, Tourism Ireland aims to grow overseas tourism revenue by +4.5pc, to €5.7m for the economies north and south. In terms of visitor numbers, the aim is to sustain this year’s results and to welcome 10.6m overseas visitors.
Access developments for 2017 include a new Aer Lingus flight to Dublin from Miami, as well as expanded services on Aer Lingus flights from Los Angeles, Chicago and Orlando. Other new routes in the pipeline include a Delta flight from Boston to Dublin, Transavia from Munich to Dublin, a Norwegian service between Stockholm and Dublin, an SAS flight from Stockholm to Shannon, a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Shannon, WOW Air from Keflavik to Cork and a Swiss Air flight from Zurich to Cork. Also, Etihad will once again operate double-daily departures between Abu Dhabi and Dublin, from April. Qatar have also confirmed a service from Doha to Dublin with no firm start up date.
A new TV ad featuring scenes from scenes from Antrim, Clare, Dublin, Galway, Kerry and Mayo (watch here) was unveiled at the Tourism Ireland launch. The ad will air from January 2017 in 23 markets around the world including on national television across the United States and in cinemas in England.
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said the state body hoped to sustain that figure in 2017 in spite of currency fluctuations in Britain, our biggest overseas market, which makes Ireland a more expensive destination to visit by comparison.
Gibbons said that according to surveys of international visitors conducted by Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s value-for-money ranking was the “best it has been for a decade” this year
On an expected decline in Ernglish visitors, Tourism Ireland will ramp up its campaigns in mainland Europe and North America, where it expects to see more robust growth.
A written statement said: For 2017, Tourism Ireland aims to build on this year’s performance, in terms of visitor numbers; and to grow overseas tourism revenue by +4.5pc in 2017 i.e. €5.7bn to the economies north and south next year. Building on this year’s success and sustaining growth into the future is at the heart of Tourism Ireland’s strategy for 2017. Factors working in our favour include new flights to Ireland from the US, Germany and Scandinavia, as well as expanded services via the Middle East from long-haul countries; strong economies in key source markets like the United States and Mainland Europe; and the Ireland ‘brand’ (or image abroad) remains strong. Other positives include Tourism Ireland’s strength in digital and social media (the organisation is the fourth most popular tourism board in the world on Facebook).
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “2016 will be the best year ever for Irish tourism, surpassing all previous records and coming on the back of a number of years of strong growth. And, I am delighted to report that we have seen growth from all our markets around the world – with record numbers arriving here from North America, Mainland Europe, and Australia and developing markets. Throughout the year, Tourism Ireland undertook a packed programme of promotions, to bring Ireland to the attention of travellers everywhere. Thousands of opportunities were created for potential visitors around the world to read, hear or watch positive messages about Ireland; Tourism Ireland estimates that this media exposure is worth an estimated €385m in equivalent advertising value. We are heading into 2017 in a position of some strength, based on the success of 2016. Tourism Ireland will create ‘stand out’ for the island of Ireland around the world next year, highlighting iconic experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, Titanic Belfast and the Causeway Coastal Route. We will also promote Dublin, in particular for shoulder and off-peak travel. Screen tourism will remain a priority, as we continue to capitalise on our connections with Star Wars and Game of Thrones. In early 2017, we will unveil a new strategy to grow tourism from new and emerging markets. We will continue to highlight the recently-announced extension of the Irish Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme, which helps us promote to new audiences. We are committed to making 2017 another strong year for Irish tourism. 2017 may present some challenges – not least Brexit, which is likely to impact on consumer confidence, which in turn may have consequences for travel to all destinations, including Ireland, from Britain. As our nearest neighbour and our largest market for overseas tourism, Britain will remain a priority for us. The depreciation of sterling against the euro since the UK referendum on Brexit means that value for money will be a key message for us in Britain next year. Tourism Ireland will continue to work with our industry partners to highlight the ease of getting to the island of Ireland.
