Fáilte Ireland delivers upbeat outlook for 2010

FÁILTE Ireland has delivered an upbeat outlook for the 2010 tourism season, although many hotel and guesthouse owners expect little or no improvement in business this year.

The national tourism development authority yesterday expressed optimism that the industry could “turn a corner” this year after the overall number of overseas tourists to Ireland fell by 12% last year, largely due to a sharp decline in visitors from Britain and the US.

However, tourist accommodation providers are less certain that there are signs that there will be any notable increase in foreign and domestic tourists over the next 12 months. The number of Irish people holidaying at home also dropped by 5% during 2009.

A survey by Fáilte Ireland shows that a greater number of hotel, hostel, self-catering and guesthouse owners believe that 2010 will be worse than 2009 than those who anticipate a better year for business. The vast majority predict that trade will be at a similar level to last year.

However, Fáilte Ireland chairman Redmond O’Donoghue insisted that almost two-thirds of operators still expected business would be the same or better than last year.

Mr O’Donoghue said it was hoped that 2010 would be the “last tough year” for the industry which has seen tourist numbers fall back to 2004 levels.

“Businesses successfully trading through 2010 will have proved themselves resilient and capable of taking full advantage of the inevitable global economic upturn,” he said.

He acknowledged that it would be a significant achievement if Ireland achieves its target of growing visitor numbers by 3% this year against a background where tourism revenue decreased by almost 17% last year to €5.2 billion.

Mr O’Donoghue justified his optimistic outlook on the basis that more Irish people were taking holidays at home due to the economic downturn, while a number of major infrastructure developments would also come on-stream during 2010.

He claimed the completion of the inter-urban motorway network connecting Dublin with Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford would greatly assist tourism in all regions.

Fáilte Ireland revealed that 86% of all overseas visitors spent part of their holiday in Dublin as tourism in the capital again fared better than other parts of the country last year with business down just 9% compared to 17% in the west.