Mayo hoteliers welcome the continuing growth in visitors to Ireland that was announced recently. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show an 11% increase in trips to the country by overseas visitors between May and July of this year.
Michael Lennon, Chair of the Mayo Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF ), believes that the growth in visitors has delivered a major boost to Irish tourism, building on last year’s performance. He says total overseas visitors to Ireland are now expected to reach 7.8 million this year, up from 7.3 million in 2014.
“There has been a real sense of optimism in Mayo this summer season, as we have seen more visitors on the ground - all welcome news for hotels and guesthouses”, says Mr Lennon. “It is particularly encouraging to see strong recovery continuing from Britain, which is up over 12 per cent for the first half of this year. The Mayo tourism industry is also benefiting from visitor increases from North America (14.9 per cent ) and the rest of Europe (12.7 per cent ) – which are key overseas markets.”
Mr Lennon states that the tourism industry continues to provide economic growth and employment opportunities in Mayo thanks to a number of direct actions from the Government, including the zero rate travel tax and the nine per cent tourism VAT rate. “The nine per cent VAT rate in particular has been of major significance to the industry. This has brought our VAT rate into line with other European destinations and helped businesses compete fairly for visitors. This has led to increased visitor numbers and also allowed the sector to create much sought after jobs in Mayo and to reinvest through restoring and upgrading properties, which ensures quality and high standards are maintained.”
He points out that, in addition to the increase in overseas tourism, it is heartening to see that national tourism efforts to reignite the domestic tourism sector are having an effect with a healthy increase in home holidaymakers being recorded. He says that Mayo hotels and guesthouses are witnessing increased business from Irish visitors as growing numbers are taking full advantage of the good value available.
Mr Lennon believes the success and foresight of the Wild Atlantic Way has helped with the present growth. He states, “The focus upon adventure races, music and food festivals are creating a positive focus for tourism growth in Mayo. It will be important that future tourism investment is strategically allocated to further develop major visitor attractions with activities, low impact adventure pursuits and meeting points to show the beauty and potential of the Wild Atlantic Way.”
Mr Lennon cautions, however, that growth in hotel revenues in Mayo is coming from a low base following the downturn. He says that many hotels and guesthouses continue to face problems, particularly in rural areas, but that sustainability for all hoteliers is the common goal. Mr Lennon concludes by stating that other external factors remain a concern for Irish hoteliers including local authority rates which remain a major burden across the country.
