Pat McDonagh, owner of Supermac’s, criticised the Galway City Council’s proposal for a tourist tax, claiming it would make Galway the “laughing stock of the country” and discourage visitors.
The proposed pilot scheme would require visitors to pay a small fee for each night they stay, with the revenue aimed at improving local facilities and infrastructure that benefit both tourists and residents.
Galway Mayor Peter Keane estimeated a one Euro per night tourism tax could generate an estimated €2mm annually for the city’s finances.
A motion, brought forward by Councillor Helen Ogbu, aims to explore the designation of Galway as a pilot city for implementing the tax, emphasizing the need for additional revenue to fund local projects.
Ogbu’s proposal includes earmarking the revenue from the tax for reinvestment in local services, with the idea that a small visitor tax could improve infrastructure for both tourists and residents.
While there is support for the motion, some councillors, including Eddie Hoare from Fine Gael, expressed concerns about potentially negative impacts on tourism and the importance of communicating the initiative effectively to visitors.
Fáilte Ireland’s recent Tourism Barometer survey indicates a drop in visitor numbers across the country compared to 2023, with McDonagh noting that introducing another tax would exacerbate the situation in an already expensive tourism market.
McDonagh highlighted that tourism in Galway has decreased: “Galway, for the first time, in my memory, didn’t fill their hotels for the early part of race season this year. We’re not overrun by tourists by any means – 80% of tourists fly into Dublin. 15% of continental tour operators this year cancelled their tours because they couldn’t fill them. We’ve become a very expensive country for tourism and for living as a whole – so, if we introduce another tax, that’s going to add to the whole situation.”.
