Alternative tourism needed, says hotels president

The president of the Irish Hotels’ Federation, Michael Vaughan, said yesterday there had been a market failure in tourism in producing sufficient alternative tourism product from counties Cork to Donegal.

Mr Vaughan said that there was not enough tourism product in the west to give tourists valid reasons to stay for longperiods.

Mr Vaughan said that tourism in the west faced a separate challenge of a new dynamic in tourism, where tourists are taking day trips out of Dublin on the motorway system.

“Yet there is a pent-up demand internationally to fly into the west,” he said.

“The consensus of tourism bodies along the west coast is that the real issue is growth. Tourism growth is being generated in the east coast, but I have travelled to Donegal, Kerry, Clare and other counties, and these places are lagging behind and will lag behind.”

However, the newly elected IHF president said that a resurgent Shannon Airport was vital for tourism prospects in the west of Ireland.

In an interview, Mr Vaughan said: “Aviation policy has to drive traffic into Shannon, Cork and Knock to bring tourists to the heartland of tourism.”

Mr Vaughan added that currently Shannon is in almost a zombie-like state.

“It [Shannon Airport] is in a state of chassis, but I believe that Minister for Transport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar, is going to do something very innovative with the airport,” he said.

Mr Vaughan attended a Shannon Chamber of Commerce event in Shannon last Friday where Mr Varadkar hinted that the new ownership structure would be independent and contain an IFSC-type model for the aviation industry.

“I was very encouraged by what Minister Varadkar had to say,” said Mr Vaughan. “He is a thoughtful and dynamic minister and if he can bring those qualitiestogether for Shannon, it will be very positive.”

Mr Vaughan said that Shannon Airport had the potential to return to figures of three million passengers per annum.

The expected offering at Shannon Airport could include an expanded Shannon Hotel College of Management to cater for up to 1,000 students in the Aviation Hospitality sector, he said.