Dublin Airport issues and hotel price rises may damage Ireland as a holiday destination

Members of the public at Dublin Airport in June. Airport issues as well as flight cancellations were having a particular impact in the US with trade sources saying they were “undermining travel confidence”. File photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Tourism Ireland was warned price increases of up to 30% for accommodation had the potential to damage Ireland’s image.

A series of special reports on rising costs for visitors said there was continuing feedback on increased car hire and hotel costs from trade partners across Europe and on social media.

However, Ireland had escaped relatively unscathed in international media coverage of the high price of holidays with only occasional specific references to spiralling prices here.

A report from early July said there were concerns among French operators, some of whom had put a “temporary pause” on Irish holidays due to pricing and capacity problems.

From Spain, tour operators had reported major difficulties in hiring coaches for groups visiting Ireland. In Italy, there had been considerable media coverage of an Italian school trip that ended up stranded in Ireland for more than 48 hours due to a flight cancellation.

There were complaints as well from Austria and Switzerland where bookings had been cancelled at late notice or previously agreed rates had been increased at the last moment.

Tourism Ireland's monitoring of social media also showed a continuing “low but consistent number of complaints”, mostly focusing on the cost of car hire or hotels. Dublin Airport was also popping up in international coverage with reports about plans to put the Irish military on standby repeatedly mentioned.

Another briefing in July said US media were particularly focused on “travel chaos” in Europe with airlines and airports struggling to cope with demand.

Tour operators in Belgium and the Netherlands flagged the possibility of cancelled bookings for Irish holidays “due to the number of hotel changes and extended travel distances required” for trips.

A paper from July noted an article saying tourism prices were rising most quickly in Ireland and Italy while there was continuing coverage of baggage issues at Dublin Airport.

Those airport issues as well as flight cancellations were having a particular impact in the US with trade sources saying they were “undermining travel confidence”.

A report from July 22 said coverage of Dublin Airport was now turning positive after it was listed as one of the best airports for “delays/cancellations” that month.

US concerns over airport issues continued with trade sources there also lamenting “the lack of availability of hotel, car rental and golf tee time capacity” for bookings.

A CNBC article highlighted average hotel costs in Dublin that were $249 a night, higher than Nice, Amsterdam, Athens, and Berlin. Another widely syndicated piece had detailed how car hire prices in Ireland “rose more than anywhere else in the world” and were up 267%.

Tourism Ireland were however, noting a small decline in the number of social media complaints about Ireland and that they represented just 2% of online engagement.

An information note from Tourism Ireland said: “These reports are not the opinion of Tourism Ireland; they are a compilation of coverage and feedback from our overseas markets, to help monitor potential reputation risks to the island of Ireland.