Fianna Fáil MEP, Billy Kelleher has said that the re-opening of society and the economy should prompt an in-depth analysis and wider discussion on Ireland’s tourism offering into the future.
“Data from before the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic indicated that tourism contributed just over $6 billion to the Irish economy. While this is an important source of income for businesses, communities and the State, we need to look at how we compare to other countries to ascertain if we are maximising our potential.
“Iceland, a small and quite isolated country, received €2.9 billion in 2018 from tourism with just over 2 million visitors. Ireland, while having 9 million visitors, only received double that amount (€5.8 billion).
“Something is going wrong in the sense that visitors to our shores aren’t spending as much as other people visiting other markets. This needs to be investigated and a plan put in place to ensure that our massive tourism numbers bring increased spending.
“We have an amazing tourism offering - there is no doubt in my mind that we can match any country in the world but something is not working if we aren’t generating as much income as other countries.
“The average tourist spend per day in Ireland is €72, according to Tourism Ireland. This compares poorly to an average spend of roughly €140 in Iceland.
“We need to know why our incoming tourists aren’t spending as much as visitors to other countries. High visitor numbers mean very little if they aren’t spending money and supporting and creating jobs.
“This is the time to start investigating and analysing. Consumers, and their preferences, have been affected by the pandemic. Their priorities have also changed I believe. I think Tourism Ireland and the Irish Government should take the time and investigate where we are, re-evaluate our markets and potential visitors, and plan to grow our tourism market and tourism spend,” concluded Kelleher.