1m fewer visitors but hopes tourism sector will recover
The continuing economic climate together with the expense of travelling to Ireland, along with natural problems such as the volcanic ash cloud and harsh winter conditions, were all contributory factors, according to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.
Following yesterday’s launch of the confederation’s annual report and preview of 2011, its chief executive Eamon McKeon said his hopes for a revival in the industry next year were based on a number of factors.
“First of all the economic recovery is under way in our four principle markets — Britain, United States, Germany and France.
“Ireland has become a more competitive place in the last couple of years despite all the problems we have had and next year we are likely to have a stronger exchange rate for the pound sterling and the dollar versus the euro that makes us stronger in those two largest markets.
“Travel and tourism has recovered worldwide... people are moving again.”
This year saw an estimated 16% drop on the number of tourists visiting Ireland compared to 2009.
From the peak in 2007, the downturn over the past three years has seen a drop of more than two million visitors to an estimated 5.5m — a level last seen in 1998.
Earnings from overseas visitors to Ireland have also contracted by a third over the past three years, with annual income now €1.7 billion less than in 2007.
The continued decrease was in stark contrast to state agency Tourism Ireland’s target of 3% growth in 2010.
The tourism industry confederation report highlights a combination of factors resulting in a another poor year for tourism.
These included economic conditions in source markets, concerns about the expense of travelling to Ireland as well as natural problems such as the volcanic ash cloud which curtailed air travel and harsh winter conditions at both ends of 2010.
The tourism sector which held up the best was the home market. The report found that aggressive price-led promotion of “staycations” and some substitution of overseas trips by domestic holiday makers meant there was almost no change in the number of home holiday trips, including short leisure breaks.
However, anecdotal reports from the industry suggested that spending by Irish tourists is down by approximately 10% on 2009. But the confederation’s chairman Tom Haughey, said: “Recovery in tourism will have to be driven by growth in overseas visitors as weakness of demand is very likely to be experienced in the domestic market over the next couple of years.”
The confederation also criticised the decision by the Central Statistics Office to curtail the publication of tourism arrival data to each quarter rather than maintaining it only a monthly basis.
“While recognising the reduction in public sector resources, this a retrograde step for the industry as it deprives the decision-makers of key monthly performance data in a timely and useful format.”
* Reduction of the travel tax to €3.
* Over the past two years, prices in Ireland have been falling, especially those associated with tourist stays — during the last decade, prices in Ireland rose more sharply than in core tourist markets.
* Government funds for the tourism sector have suffered only marginal cuts. Fáilte Ireland’s budget next year will be €62.5m plus a further €26m will be spent on capital expenditure on developing and upgrading of attractions.
* Tourism remains a major industry, generating revenue of €4.5 billion and supporting close to 200,000 jobs.
* Almost three out of four tourism businesses are of the view that Ireland’s image has been damaged by the current banking and economic crisis.
* British consumer spending is expected to remain subdued as government austerity measures impact, resulting in rising unemployment, VAT increases and falling home prices.
* Capacity on air services to and from Ireland has been contracting over the past three years.
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