Conference centre ‘will be delivered’

TOURISM minister John O’Donoghue says a decision to award the contract to build the national conference centre will be made by next summer.

Mr O’Donoghue said a national conference centre in Dublin is vital for the tourism industry and he was committed to the 2005 deadline.

“Nobody should be in any doubt that this project will be delivered. There are real challenges, but they will be addressed and overcome as a priority,” he said yesterday.

The minister was speaking at the first Business Tourism Forum, which was set up earlier this year to aid the business travel market in Ireland.

This sector of the tourism market has been identified by Fáilte Ireland as a key segment as business travellers spend 70% more than leisure tourists to Ireland and also travel here during the off-peak months in autumn and winter.

Peter Malone, the chairman of the Business Tourism Forum, said yesterday there was a number of challenges for the €250 million a year business tourism market.

“Ireland is the only European country with a VAT rate of over 10% that does not reimburse businesses for hotel and restaurant expenses and this is a major competitive disadvantage in attracting business meetings and conferences to the country,” he said. “Our main competitor for international meetings, Britain, makes a point of promoting its deduction allowances. At a time when the Irish tourism industry is already trying hard to manage a rising cost base in order to provide a competitive product, this policy is surely due for revision.”

He added that if the country is to attract more business tourists then it was vital to maintain business class air access and interlining of luggage between airlines. Aer Lingus is scrapping its business class seating on short-haul flights, but Mr Malone believes this will not be good for news for the Irish tourism increase.