Drinks industry 'critical' to tourism sector

The drinks industry is critical to the continued success of tourism, it was claimed today.

As a new report revealed brewers and suppliers put up a quarter of sponsorship for the country’s festivals, the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland insisted it had a critical role to play in supporting the economy.

Donall O’Keeffe, DIGI secretary, said sports events and music festivals would be at risk if the money from drinks firms was not available.

Mr O’Keefe said the report would allow people to see for the first time the valuable support that drinks firms give other sectors of the economy.

“Much of the debate about the industry in Ireland focuses on criticism and negativity but the industry remains a critical element of the national economy,” he said.

“Previous research has highlighted the vast sums of money paid in taxation by the industry and the fact that the equivalent of 80,000 full time jobs are accounted for by the sector.

“Today’s report demonstrates that the industry is also critical to the continued success of the Irish tourism product which is itself critical to the national economy.”

The study, undertaken by Dublin City University economist Tony Foley, revealed drinks firms were also leading the way in sport sponsorship.

It highlighted how in 2004 the industry provided 21% or €1.1m of the total racing sponsorship budget of €5.4m. The IT sector provided just 1.7% of the budget and the banking sector just 1%.

“Whether it’s support for festivals across the country, sponsorship for major sporting events, the provision of key tourist attractions or the role of the pub in providing a basic tourism infrastructure across the country, the drinks industry contributes enormously to Irish tourism,” Mr O’Keefe said.