Fáilte Ireland to invest in home tourism

Fáilte Ireland will invest a record €3m in domestic marketing in a bid to face the “biggest challenge to Irish tourism since 9/11”.

Chairman of Fáilte Ireland, Redmond O’Donoghue said that the tourism industry was now facing into a huge battle to rival the post-9/11 period or that of the foot and mouth outbreak in Ireland.

In a bid to halt this decline, the tourism body will invest €3m in marketing ‘home holiday destinations’ to Irish people.

This represents an increase of €1m on the previous largest amount ever spent on domestic marketing by the tourism body and reflects the growing trend of people taking holidays at home.

“There are a lot of challenges facing the industry at the moment,” he said. “Foreign exchange rates, airlines cutting routes to save money and job losses are all having an effect.

“We will spend €3m this year just to get Irish people to stay at home — in times of difficulty it is important not to sit on your hands but to act.

“We need to be imaginative and inventive and encourage businesses to communicate, cooperate and create when they have like-minded products.”

Article courtesy of The Evening Echo newspaper.