Recognising the value of tourism
As we edge closer to the budget and perhaps an election, maybe it’s time to reflect on tourism’s status. Recent reports give a mixed view. Year-on-year the sector seems to be suffering after the post-Covid boom. Recent surveys of visitor numbers and the domestic market show a sluggish performance due to a myriad of reasons. Some of those reasons – like the weather and less disposable income among foreign visitors – are out of the state’s control. Other factors, such as costs and lack of accommodation, are not.
How should government address these worrying trends? The industry has called for a return to the 9% VAT rate. But it seems this is not on the government’s radar. Other issues – such the continuing removal of hotels from the market to support migrants and the cap on Dublin airport – indicate a lack of a cohesive strategy for the sector – and speaks volumes of governmental ineptitude.
Many politicians in the Dail do still not consider tourism to be a forceful economic player. A glance back over the last few governments seems to prove this scenario. We are all aware of the chaos which the 2008/2009 economic crash created in this country. At the time Ajai Chopra, then head of the IMF, cited tourism as a key component on the road to bringing our economy back to a healthy position. Sure enough, within in a few years of the crash, our economy rebounded to a better state of finance on the back of tourism successes. Yet no lessons appear to have been learned. Over the last 14 years, the tourism brief has been positioned with strange bedfellows. In 2010 it was thrown into bed with Transport and Sport. These days it sits with six other portfolios (and lacks a Junior Minister).
How can the industry feel secure and positive when this is how it is treated?
A number of pharmaceutical companies recently broke the news of their intended cessation of operations in Ireland, amounting to 515 jobs lost. This prompted an outcry and mobilisation of TDs. Councillors leapt onto the airways lamenting the situation and seeking support at the highest level in government. Many of these multinationals, while giving employment and tax revenue to the Exchequer, are beholden to shareholders and boards of management who are in business to make profit – and who now consider the cost of doing business in Ireland too expensive. They are taking their business to less expensive countries and Ireland will lose out. But look at what Ireland has to offer as a tourist destination: a landscape that cannot be moved. Why don’t those same TD’s and councillors fight for this jewel in the same way as they have for departing pharma companies? If Ajai Chopra could identify the value of Irish tourism in 2010, why isn’t it supported at the cabinet table today?
Meanwhile, Irish hospitality needs to think more about catering for those with disabilities. In our current online issue of Hotel & Restaurant Times we hear perspectives from people with disabilities. For instance: a person in a wheelchair having to suffer the indignity of being carried upstairs to use the toilet. That is unacceptable in this day and age. The article finds that restaurants and pubs are the worst offenders. Offending establishments should ensure they have adequate and usable facilities in place for disabled visitors.
A nugget of welcome news is the appointment, pending until January 2025, of Paul Gallagher: new CEO of the Irish Hotels Federation. Paul brings a wealth of experience as a hotelier and a member of numerous boards associated with tourism. His honest and forthright approach to the business will be welcomed by many.
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