Tourism cannot afford to see Ireland closed for business

We must try to chart a roadmap out of this crisis for Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, writes Eoghan O’Mara Walsh

Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of Itic. Picture: Maxwell Photography

It is now an accepted fact that the economic sector hit quickest and hardest by the pandemic has been Ireland’s travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.

Estimates point to an 85% drop in revenue since Covid-19 began and a staggering 160,000 job losses.

Last year truly was an annus horribilis, and yet at the end of the year — with news of the Covid-19 vaccine and an 11th-hour Brexit deal — there was hope that 2021 would see recovery commence in earnest.

Regrettably, now only six weeks into the year, hopes are fading as this interminable lockdown bites and international travel is increasingly demonised.

However, it is important to step back and try to chart a roadmap out of this crisis for Ireland’s largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer. Inbound tourism is big business for Ireland and can be again given the right circumstances and enabling factors.

In a key report due to be published on Wednesday at a high-profile virtual conference the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (Itic) will identify three scenarios for industry growth, the most positive of which outlines a recovery to 2019 levels of volume, jobs, and revenue by 2025.

That means that, despite the greatest ever crisis to befall the global travel and aviation industry, Irish tourism can recover lost ground within just a four-year timeframe.

Ireland’s tourism industry has always been resilient and durable, and has a proven track record of bouncing back from previous external crises such as 9/11 or the great financial crash. Certain macro factors, of course, will remain outside of our control, such as virus mutations and the robustness of the world economy, yet many policy decisions are very much within our control — including financial supports to ensure tourism businesses survive these critical months, restoring international aviation and connectivity in a safe and prudent manner and, crucially, rolling out the vaccine as urgently and speedily as possible.

Many in broader society, as well as the business community, look enviously at the pace of the vaccine rollout in the UK. As hamfisted as its response to the virus was, the UK government now seems to be applying far more resources and focus to their vaccine programme, with over 10m doses already administered.

Ireland needs a step-change in its own programme, not just for public health reasons, but to also allow economic sectors such as tourism and hospitality to reopen fully and safely.

In parallel to a ramped-up vaccine programme, the Irish Government has to change the narrative about international access.

As an island nation on the western seaboard of Europe, connectivity is fundamental not just to Ireland’s tourism industry, but to the wider economy as a whole. The current narrative is akin to a closed sign above Ireland which, if left unchallenged, will leave serious and long-term economic damage.

For evident reasons, nobody is arguing for an influx of international visitors now or in the immediate months ahead, but we have to be mindful of the latter half of the year and tourism’s critical importance to regional Ireland in particular.

There is very little other industry along parts of the Wild Atlantic Way other than tourism. Jobs, livelihoods, and regional balance are intrinsically dependent on a healthy tourism industry.

International travel and tourism can and should be allowed recommence in a safe and sensible manner with a comprehensive, scalable, and rapid testing regime — allied to vaccine rollout both at home and in source markets — and Ireland should take a lead on this and look to ensure the EU operates a multi-lateral approach.

And talking about international travel, there should be no doubting the importance of the Taoiseach’s visit to US president Joe Biden on St Patrick’s Day.

For the world to go green on March 17, and to have such a high-profile White House visit, is the type of international exposure any other country — big or small — can only dream of. It also offers the Taoiseach an opportunity to state that Ireland, whilst conscious of its public health responsibilities, is open for business.

Global Greening of the Colosseum for Patrick's Day.

To simply wait for Covid to be over and then expect the economy, and particularly our travel and tourism sector, to turn on again and click into revival mode would be foolhardy.

Of course, before revival is survival.

In pre-pandemic times, according to the CSO, there were up to 20,000 tourism and hospitality businesses operating in the State. Many of these are clinging on by their fingertips at this point and the Government must do all that it can during this period of enforced closure for public health reasons, to support these businesses.

This includes a doubling and extension of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme as well as a more generous business continuity grants package for tourism enterprises.

The Wage Subsidy Scheme and the waiver on local authority rates will also need to continue for the rest of the calendar year for the tourism sector.

With demand so low, certain businesses, sadly, will fail, but it is incumbent on the Government to support vulnerable, yet viable, enterprises if Irish tourism’s essential fabric is to be preserved.

Some commentary says that the staycation market will be enough for Ireland’s tourism and hospitality industry this summer assuming restrictions are lifted.

As welcome and important as the domestic market is, it can sadly never make up for the loss of earnings that are generated from overseas tourism. Saying that, we need to do all we can to encourage home holidays this year, and in that context the Government needs to redesign and relaunch its Stay and Spend Scheme.

Flawed from the outset, and designed as a complicated tax rebate, this scheme has been further undermined by rolling lockdowns.

The current restrictions — allied to the poor design — mean that the scheme needs to be relaunched as a consumer-friendly upfront voucher for every household redeemable against all tourism and hospitality businesses operating in the State.

Ryanair has received much criticism for its “Jab and Go” advertisements, but certainly the Government should be encouraged to “Go and Jab” — the speed and efficacy of the rollout of the vaccine is the key to restoring our economy and our beleaguered tourism industry.

• Eoghan O’Mara Walsh is chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (Itic)