We should leave rip-off tourism in the past

I was standing at the tip of Mizen Head last Saturday morning when a combination of a still Atlantic and blue skies created a scene neither Lucas Films nor Disney could replicate with a billion dollars.

One of the things that makes advocating the merits of a great product or service easy is the knowledge you are talking about something that is world class.

“World class” hardly defines what the Irish landscape and seascape offers, for it it is certainly unique.

The Mizen itself encapsulates change that has flowed over Ireland in recent decades.

Technology, which Ireland embraces more than many countries, has replaced labour with machines that provide better reliability and safer passage for air- and sea-borne transport. The Mizen is festooned with automatic, unmanned transmitters that guide ships and aircraft across the Atlantic.

Instead of abandoning the facilities that no longer need labour we have converted the site into a tourism project that is second to none.

On Saturday, a variety of international accents wandering around Mizen in the middle of March spoke volumes about the Wild Atlantic Way, access points to the south western tip of the Republic and the ease with which tourists can go the extra mile for something special.

The Mizen is also another example of what good- minded public and private interests in Irish society can do to drive our economy forward.

Taxpayers’ money has been used to modernise the visitor centre and facilities at Mizen, while private interests have accommodation and restaurants within reasonable distances. Air access, ferry companies and car rental companies, too, play a crucial role in knitting together a tourism tapestry that can compete on a world stage.

That stage is rigged in our favour, currently. The UK has always been a good source of decent-paying visitors. They are enjoying a robust economy and a huge rally in sterling against the euro over the past 12 months.

That should imply the attractiveness of Ireland for a holiday is amplified in price terms. The same applies in the much larger American market, boosted further by a set of new transatlantic air services in 2015.

The US economy, too, is benefiting from rising employment and stronger economic growth, factors that can also promote the flow of tourists to and from Ireland.

With these advantages, it is critical that we do not replay the mistakes of the past, as a period of economic recovery comes in to view. One depressing feature of the recent St Patrick’s weekend was anecdotal evidence that hotel rates had been jacked up aggressively in the run up to the festival.

Gouging is something we became very good at during the height of the Celtic Tiger. With a nod and a wink, we had a penchant for robbing visitors in hotels, bars and other hostelries because, well, we just could.

I’m a great believer in market forces instead of regulators. After 2007, Mr Market told Irish tourism and the general-property-binged Irish economy to go swivel and we all learned a valuable lesson then about excess and over-supply.

Now, we have an opportunity to rebuild a shattered economy by including tourism and agrifood as core elements of that process, something that spreads the benefit outside Dublin and across the regions. It is for that reason that consumers and service-providers alike should be on the alert for those who think returning tourists are there to be reefed on prices.

Instead of some regulatory mess, it must be you and I that call out those who rip-off consumers who are willing supporters of Irish tourism. Otherwise, we risk wasting a golden opportunity for sustained wealth creation and job opportunity through our unique natural resources.

Joe Gill is director of Corporate Broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.