32,000 jobs lost in tourism as visitors down 3%

THE number of foreign tourists coming to Ireland fell by more than 3% to 7.5 million last year — the first reduction in overseas visitors since 2001.

An end-of-year statement published yesterday by Fáilte Ireland estimated that up to 32,000 full and part-time jobs have been lost in the industry over the past year as a consequence of the downturn in numbers.

The national tourism development authority said tourism revenue also declined by 2% to €6.3 billion, while the number of Irish people taking holidays at home was also down.

The decline in foreign tourists was most noticeable in the south, with numbers in the south-east down by 9% and by 8% in the south-west, although all regions suffered a reduction in visitors from abroad.

Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said the sharp drop in overseas tourists — to areas below a line between Dublin and Galway — was largely due to a 9% fall in visitors from the US and a 4.5% reduction in tourists from Britain. The declining value of the dollar and pound against the euro had also played a significant role in the decline of such strong traditional markets, he said.

Spending by US visitors is estimated to have fallen by 18%, although expenditure by British tourists fared somewhat better by only recording a 2% fall-off.

On a more positive note, the number of visitors from mainland Europe held up well — only recording a 1% reduction but increasing their spending by 8%.

The average length of stay by foreign tourists also increased slightly, while there was also growth in the number of people travelling to Ireland for business and family reasons.

However, more than 70% of all accommodation providers, including hotels and B&Bs, reported earning less profits over the past year. There was increased competition across the sector as 33 new hotels opened in 2008 bringing the overall hotel accommodation total to more than 60,500 rooms.

Mr Quinn said that reports from the industry suggested employment in the tourism sector had fallen by up to 10% during 2008 – the equivalent of 25,000 full-time jobs.

Fáilte Ireland’s chairman Redmond O’Donoghue said the industry’s performance in 2008 was mostly in line with expectations.

He described the past year as “a season of two halves” with tourism performing well up to May but then experiencing a sharp decline in parallel with the difficulties in both the national and global economies. He stressed that tourism revenue and overseas visitor figures in 2008 were still the second highest on record.

But Mr O’Donoghue said the results also failed to capture the difficulties faced by many tourism businesses such as rising costs, weak consumer demand, reduced credit lines and strong local competition.

Looking ahead, he said Fáilte Ireland’s main focus during 2009 would be an aggressive €3m marketing campaign to persuade more Irish people to holiday at home.

Mr O’Donoghue admitted that tourist numbers from the US and Britain were unlikely to recover this year, with mainland European visitors offering the best hope of the sector matching last year’s performance.

Two-thirds of all guesthouses, car hire companies and visitor attractions expect to experience difficult trading conditions, according to a survey by Fáilte Ireland.