€6bn target set for tourism sector

The Government should commit to a series of measures to control inflation and begin negotiations immediately with airport authorities and airlines on doubling Ireland's tourism sector by 2012, according to a new report.

The recommendations were contained in the report of the Tourism Policy Review Group, which was published yesterday. It identified domestic inflationary pressures, and the related loss of competitiveness, as the biggest threat to the growth of Irish tourism for the next decade.

Tourism groups welcomed the report, saying the targets were ambitious and challenging.

The report also concludes that low-cost access to Ireland must be increased significantly if its target of making Irish tourism a €6 billion industry by 2012 is to be realised. It predicts the smoking ban in pubs and other businesses will have no affect on Irish tourism.

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said the report was the most important and authoritative document on tourism in the last 10 years. He described it as a "wake-up call" for the sector.

"One of the key measures in the report is that restoring competitiveness is a major challenge for Irish tourism. Whereas Government certainly has a role, primary responsibility for restoring competitiveness rests with the industry itself."

Mr John Travers, chairman of the review group, said the Government needed to "make tourism the business of Government".

"We are facing the threat of complacency. People start thinking the good days are going to continue forever and that they don't have to change very much. We are saying it would be a very grave mistake to assume that what has happened in the past will continue in the future."

He added that Fáilte Ireland should also be given a role in planning matters and should work with local authorities to ensure best practice in conservation.

Ms Gillian Bowler, chairwoman of Fáilte Ireland and a member of the review group, said the target of effectively doubling the size of the tourism sector by 2012 could be achieved, but only through "sustained effort by all partners in the industry".

She added key elements in the report included the emphasis on the development of new products and marketing strategies, as well as building management capability across the sector.

Mr Jim Murphy, president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said it was "heartening" to see outlined in the report a number of fiscal measures that could enhance the sector's competitiveness.

"The IHF maintains that an overarching recommendation, which will have enormous positive impact on the industry if implemented, calls for the improvement of the effectiveness of Government leadership and intervention in promoting tourism," he said.

Mr Brian Dowling, chairman of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, welcomed the report but warned the difficulties now facing the sector "are a consequence of deteriorating national competitiveness".

"Every internationally traded sector in the economy, including tourism, is similarly affected. Getting Ireland's competitiveness back into balance will be the industry's primary requirement from Government," Mr Dowling said.