Dublin to host tourism conference

Dublin will host an international forum today on how the tourism industry has been affected by the global economic slowdown.

The forum is hosted by Cert, which said rising costs and the erosion of competitiveness are posing significant challenges to a sector which had, until recently, enjoyed a period of unprecedented and sustained growth.

The conference will examine the competitiveness of the tourism industry, the development of new products, environmental and infrastructural requirements, and marketing.

It will also discuss the review of tourism policy announced by the Government earlier this month. The Irish tourism industry generates €4bn in annual foreign revenue earnings and €1.2bn in domestic expenditure each year.

An estimated 150,000 people are employed in the sector.