“The dramatic decline recorded in overseas visitors lays bare the decimated state of our tourism industry this year. These figures compel the Government and the tourism agencies to take immediate, radical and creative action to reverse this downward trend,” so said Joe O’Brien, Chairman of Irish Hotels Federation’s Midlands Branch in response to the 18.4 per cent decline in overseas visits, during May, reported today by the CSO.
The IHF states that the British overseas visitors’ performance of a 23 per cent drop is singularly disappointing given its importance as Ireland’s largest overseas tourism market. The IHF says high impact promotion initiatives that send positive messages internationally to attract overseas visits here are now urgently needed. Two immediate suggestions by the IHF to assist in rejuvenating tourism is to offer free travel to all UK residents aged 66 and over and enlist our high-profile international sporting and entertainment personalities’ support to promote Ireland.
“We need to up our game in tourism marketing abroad – marketing efforts need to be sweated hard to assist in reversing the major fall-off in visitors that is happening right now. We have a tremendous product to offer and great value is readily available throughout the country. We need everyone to pull together to get Ireland back on its feet as an international destination of choice. We should be drawing on some of our greatest assets - our people. We have world renowned music, sports and cultural figures, all proud of being Irish who through the co-ordination of Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland could be organised to promote our country on the world stage,” says Mr O’Brien.
According to the IHF, extending the current free travel on public transport scheme for Irish citizens aged 66 to all UK citizens in the same age category would send a highly positive tourism marketing message to the UK and tap into the 9.5 million people aged over 66 in that jurisdiction.
“It is an intelligent use of an unused resource and would impose no substantial additional costs to Irish Rail and could be a major catalyst to increasing our attractiveness in UK market. This, combined with the extensive value offers the industry is currently offering, would make a compelling marketing campaign for our most important overseas tourism market. The State already subsidises CIE by over €320 million a year; it is a significant element of our tourism infrastructure and it appears there is substantial excess capacity on rail and bus services particularly at off peak times. It simply makes good sense. It costs nothing and could mean everything to improve our tourism performance,” Mr O’Brien concludes.
