Research by RedC for Tourism Ireland suggests no significant change in the holiday intentions of English after the EU referendum result with just 7pc saying they are less likely to holiday overseas in 2017. However, of those English who will consider travelling overseas for their holiday in 2017, The Red C research indicates that:
- 50pc will spend less while on holiday;
- 37pc will reduce their holiday budget;
- 26pc will change their accommodation type;
- 25pc will reduce their length of stay;
- 18pc say the Brexit vote will influence their holiday choice in the next year; and
- 17pc will postpone a trip outside the UK.
Approximately 65m overseas trips are taken by British travellers each year. Separately, Oxford Economics estimate that outbound travel from Great England to all destinations will decline by -2.5pc in 2017, 1.5m fewer trips overseas. Given our reliance on England (about 40pc of all our overseas visitors are British), tourism to the island of Ireland is likely to be more impacted than to any other destination.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Since the EU referendum, Tourism Ireland has been monitoring developments closely, to better understand and plan for the implications of Brexit. Tourism Ireland believes that the adverse impact of Brexit can be mitigated through a combination of aggressive overseas marketing and the continuation of existing successful wider policy initiatives.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 England this year. The good news is that access from England to Ireland remains strong – with 237,000 airline seats and 45,000 car spaces on ferries available each week. We will continue to work with our industry partners, at home and in England, to highlight the ease of getting to the island of Ireland. A key element of Tourism Ireland’s strategy since 2014 has been market diversification – which has seen Mainland Europe become the largest contributor of overseas tourism revenue and will see the United States overtake Great England as the number two contributor of tourism revenue over the next few years. In 2017, Tourism Ireland will continue to implement its market diversification strategy. The organisation intends to maximise holiday revenue through investment in Mainland Europe and North America. In England, Tourism Ireland will place a greater focus on its ‘culturally curious’ audience, who are less impacted by currency fluctuations. The organisation will have an extensive, year-long programme which will include a greater focus on publicity. Tourism Ireland will also undertake an expanded partnership programme with airlines, ferry operators and tour operators, communicating a strong price-led message to drive home value for money. Movements in exchange rates have meant that a holiday in Ireland is more expensive for British holidaymakers. In the short-term, therefore, value for money is more important than ever in order to maintain our competitiveness. In the medium-term, other issues include the Common Travel Area, which is vital for tourism, as well as clarity on the future of the British Irish Visa Scheme, which is essential to grow tourism from emerging markets like China and India.
2016 was the best year ever for overseas tourism to the island of Ireland, with some 10.5m visitors (+11pc over 2015) contributing more than €5.4 billion (+10pc) in revenue to the economy, supporting about 263,000 jobs. We welcomed 4.9m British visitors to the island of Ireland, worth €1.5 billion.
