Developing tourism - Sector still has huge potential

ONE of the very best opportunities we have to rebuild our economy is to make sure that we do all we can to make Ireland an attractive and satisfying destination for tourists, domestic or international.

We have considerable expertise in this area and there is no reason we cannot build on that.

The figures are impressive. About 6.6 million foreign visitors came to Ireland last year and spent something in the region of €3 billion, 59% of all tourism revenue.

Tourism is one of the island’s largest indigenous industries generating more than 4% of GNP in the Republic and employing approximately 200,000 people. These are strong figures and a good basis for real development.

Yesterday’s announcement that Ireland is the world’s fifth most commonly considered tourism destination on Facebook is very encouraging too. This kind of international attention is invaluable and should be exploited to the full. Maybe we have become too complacent, too familiar with the wonderful attractions all around us but, as Spring announces itself ever more stridently around the country, it is not to hard to see that we have a really wonderful package to offer and that it might be made even more attractive.

So much has been done in the areas of food and accommodation, activity holidays — especially walking — and cultural events but we must do more to protect what we have and grow the business.

There are concerns though. Speaking at a tourism event in Limerick yesterday, Michael Vaughan, chairman of the Shannon region branch of the Irish Hotels’ Federation, warned that 5,000 jobs in the sector are in jeopardy unless immediate action is taken to confront a decline in visitor numbers. He suggested that we have up to 15,000 hotel rooms too many and that the agencies promoting the sector could be streamlined. He also said that some insolvent hotels were being run by the banks or NAMA to sustain illusory asset values.

We too often fall short in areas of environmental protection as well. If we are to sell Ireland as a green and pleasant land, then we must do more to ensure that it remains so. Everyone has seen how litter, especially fly-tipping around our towns and cities, can create a very bad impression. Maybe it’s time for communities to be more proactive on this issue.

Announcements like yesterday’s from Inland Fisheries Ireland that Department of Agriculture proposals to control pests at salmon farms will be ineffective and thereby threaten salmon and sea trout stocks should be a cause for concern to tourism interests too. Angling tourism revenue has declined dramatically over the last decade because we have not protected fish stocks, especially salmon, trout or sea trout, properly. Neither have we protected lakes and rivers as we should have.

All of these issues can be resolved if there is a willingness to do so and there should be because this is one of the very few areas in our own control that can make a significant contribution to rebuilding our economy.