Tourism sector ‘must keep up or lose out’

The tourism sector risks failing to maximise its recent recovery unless it develops innovative, new approaches to entice visitors.

The claim was made at the launch of a consultation document by the Department of Transport, Tourism, and Sport at Dublin Castle yesterday.

The ‘white paper’ has been developed to help shape the sector’s approach over “the coming decades” and is seeking submissions from industry experts and the public until Nov 1 as to how this can be done.

Welcoming the “timely” step, Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said it is vital that tourism chiefs do not become complacent as the sector recovers, saying the situation can change quickly.

“Former policies were quite insular in their approach and provided the same old, same old,” he said.

“The last policy document, New Horizons, was 10 years ago. Our world has moved on and we need to keep up or we will lose out.”

According to the CSO, since 2010 — when the tourism industry here hit rock bottom — visitor numbers from North America (up 19%), Britain (up 6%), the rest of the EU (up 27%), and long-haul destinations (up 38%) have all increased.

In addition, the 2012 Fáilte Ireland visitor survey showed just 17% of tourists felt this country is poor value for money, compared to 41% in 2009.

Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar said these trends underline how the sector — which is worth €5bn a year and now employs a near boom-level 185,000 people — is fighting back against the recession.

Urging industry experts to continue to build on the recovery, he said it is vital a clear, over-arching policy is established to encourage more visitors.

“Tourism has moved from crisis mode two years ago, firmly into recovery mode now,” Mr Varadkar said.

“With the success of The Gathering, a significant increase in overseas visits for three years in a row, and a good summer for domestic tourism behind us, we now must ask ourselves, what next?

“I want this to be the most far-reaching review of Irish tourism policy in years. 2013 has been a good year for Irish tourism. What I want now is a plan for sustainable growth out to 2020 and beyond.

“This is the right time to think about where our priorities for tourism policy should lie, to maximise the benefits to Ireland and make sure we apply our resources where they can make the biggest difference.”

Among the 20 specific issues being examined by the public consultation document are:

- which countries and regions should be prioritised as tourism markets, taking account of the limited finances available

- how Ireland can build on the “success of the Gathering”

- how local communities and businesses in more rural areas can increase their involvement in tourism initiatives

- and what policy framework changes are needed to support regional tourism development.

*The full tourism white paper can be found at dttas.ie. Comments and submissions will be accepted until Friday, Nov 1.