OECD praises State’s tourism plans
The report entitled OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2012, suggested a number of initiatives that governments could undertake to boost tourism in European countries and maintain Europe’s position as the number one global destination for tourists.
Deputy secretary-general of the OECD, Yves Leterme, said that governments need to have a tourism plan to help grow their product.
“Tourism is directly responsible for over 5% of employment in OECD member countries. But in many countries, tourism jobs remain vacant due to a lack of appropriately skilled workers,” Mr Leterme said.
“There is a need for governments to assume a greater leadership role in shaping the training and education agenda,” he added.
Initiatives by Fáilte Ireland came in for particular praise from the OECD as they help foster entrepreneurship in the tourism sector.
“Fáilte Ireland enhances the competitiveness, productivity and entrepreneurship of Irish tourism through a range of business solutions including business excellence and quality initiatives, sectoral and industry support,” the report stated.
The OECD was also impressed by the Government’s reorganisation of departmental portfolios that links the development of Irish tourism with transport and the Government’s job initiative.
The OECD praised the Government’s initiatives to lower the cost of employing people in tourism, by halving employers’ PRSI and lowering costs for tourists by providing a lower level of Vat for restaurants and hotels.
Finally, as an island on the periphery of Europe, the report stressed the importance of access and praised the Government for abolishing Ireland’s air travel tax, conditional on clear commitments by airlines to increase inbound capacity.
When tourists do arrive in Ireland, most of them stay in Dublin, according to figures released by Fáilte Ireland.
Dublin had 3.7m visitors in 2011 generating revenue of €1.2bn. Cork was the second most popular destination with 1m visitors generating revenue of €430m.
Galway was the next most popular destination with 900,000 visitors who spent €345m while they stayed in Ireland.
