Tourism report tells industry to offer better value for money
The report by a Government think-tank is also expected to call for an urgent renegotiation of the US-Ireland airline landing deal, thereby downgrading the existing Shannon stopover.
The report be critical of both Government and industry handling of the tourism sector in recent years and will particularly focus on competitiveness and marketing.
The Strategic Tourism Review will set targets for the industry and recommend action to be taken by both the public and private sectors as well.
The report, which will be launched by Minister for Tourism John O’Donoghue tomorrow, won’t pull back from pointing out how the sector is failing to adapt to changing times.
Tourism is at a crossroads at the moment, after a successful decade of growth during the 1990s, and there are indications of a deterioration in Ireland’s competitiveness in the international tourism market.
Mr O’Donoghue set up the Tourism Policy Review Group last year to plan the way ahead for the industry.
Industry analysts believe that the importance of the tourism industry is often understated.
After the agriculture and food sector, tourism is regarded as the biggest indigenous industry in the country. Employing 150,000 people, it is worth €4 billion to the economy, with €3 billion coming from foreign tourism and €1 billion from domestic tourism and contributes €2 billion in tax revenue.
But the industry has been hit by a range of external shocks, including the war in Iraq, SARS and the continuing worldwide economic slump, following on from the crisis in the industry sparked by September 11.
The review will evaluate the economic and social contribution of the tourism industry and prospects for the international travel and tourism sector in the medium and longer term.
The report is likely to recommend the downgrading of the Shannon stopover to bring in more US visitors.
Under the present agreement, Aer Lingus has access to five US airports while any airlines operating flights between Ireland and the US must serve Shannon as often as Dublin.
Aer Lingus wants the Government to renegotiate the bilateral agreement with the US to allow them to gain access to 50 new routes.
The EU “open skies” plan will prevent member states from favouring national airlines over EU rivals on the lucrative routes to the US.
The Government policy is to protect the Shannon stopover and argues for special treatment of Shannon, given its importance to the West of Ireland and the thousands of jobs it provides in the Mid-West.
The review is expected to recommend a new flights deal to the US to bring in more visitors from North America to the benefit of the entire country, including the Mid-West.
