‘Rip-off republic’ image is reversed

Ireland has reversed its “rip-off republic” image and is now giving tourists the best value-for-money rates in over a decade.

A new survey has found the country’s overall rating as a value-for-money destination has vastly improved from -11% in 2009 to +24% in 2012.

Tourism officials welcomed these, and other top-line trends, which have emerged from Fáilte Ireland’s annual Visitor Attitudes Survey, published yesterday.

The survey was conducted among 1,578 overseas visitors to Ireland in 2012.

It found in terms of value for money, Ireland has improved significantly and is now receiving net positive ratings across all key markets — even in the challenging British market.

Four out of 10 overseas visitors in 2012 rated Ireland as “good to very good” value for money with another 42% rating the country as “fair”.

Only 17% of visitors considered Ireland as “poor or very poor” value for money — in 2009 this figure stood at 41%.

Other indications from the results show the vast majority of overseas holidaymakers would definitely recommend Ireland for a holiday to friends and family.

Our people and scenery remain our main competitive advantages compared to other destinations.

North Americans were most enthusiastic about their holiday here, with more than half (53%) saying that their Irish holiday exceeded their expectations.

And the internet and word of mouth are the most frequently used sources of information which influence overseas holidaymakers’ choice to visit Ireland.

Leo Varadkar, the tourism minister, welcomed the findings, which emerged a quarter of the way through the Gathering initiative.

“We are inviting thousands of visitors to Ireland and we want them to have the best experience possible, to recommend Ireland to others and to return themselves,” he said.

“This news is also more evidence that government policies to rebuild the tourism industry, including the special 9% tourism Vat rate, are working.

“Fáilte Ireland estimates that 5,000 extra jobs were generated in the tourism and hospitality sector last year; regaining our reputation as a good value destination will help to sustain, and hopefully grow, the 185,000 jobs in industry.”

A detailed analysis of the Visitor Attitudes Survey will be published in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the tourism industry will host Ireland’s largest travel trade workshop in the RDS, Dublin from tomorrow.

Meitheal allows over 400 Irish tourism providers the opportunity to meet directly with 300 top overseas tour operators with a view to negotiating business for 2014.

Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn said the deals struck will be an integral part of Irish tourism’s recovery and growth.