Tourist bosses: 'We have to claw our way back to competitiveness'

A major report on the state of Ireland's tourism industry is calling for the scrapping of the €10 tourism tax.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) is publishing the document that sets out the challenges facing the sector and its prospects for recovery.

In April, the last month for which figures are available from the CSO, there was a reduction of almost 25% in the number of tourists coming to Ireland.

ITIC Chief Executive Eamon McKeown said costs such as the tourism tax needed to be removed from the industry, adding: "When you're uncompetitive, you've got to start taking cost out. You've got to claw your way back to competitiveness."