Discovering Ireland can be expensive. A Discover Ireland gift voucher costs the consumer £55 but is only worth £50 to the recipient.
It does not matter if a consumer is buying one voucher or 100, there is a £5 service charge on every voucher. The scheme used to be administered by Bord Failte but was out-sourced some years ago.
Mr Con O'Conaill, manager of the Cork and Kerry Regional Tourism Authority, which manages the scheme, said these vouchers were not analogous to gift vouchers sold by retailers. The vouchers are redeemed in the retailer's shop or hotel, which gets the profit.
"In our case, we print the vouchers and promote and handle the scheme, but there is nothing in it for us," he said. The vouchers can be redeemed for a wide variety of activities from cruising to coach touring to golf, restaurants and hotels and special offers. The 10 per cent service charge was clearly outlined in the literature, he added.
The Irish Book Tokens scheme also sells generic vouchers. Tokens can be redeemed in any participating bookshop, but consumers buy and redeem for face value. A spokeswoman for Book Tokens Ltd explained that the service charge was levied on the retailers.
Discover Ireland vouchers are available from the six regional tourism authorities and Shannon Development. Last year more than £100,000 worth of vouchers were sold.
The chief executive of Dublin Tourism, Mr Frank Magee, said the regional tourism authorities were not Bord Failte offices. They are limited companies which get a subvention from Bord Failte. "Last year Dublin Tourism got £370,000 grant-in-aid, and total salary costs were £1.2 million. We provide a network of six tourist information offices and an Internet site," he said. All of this is cold comfort to the consumer who still has to pay £55 for a £50 voucher and who might be wondering why Bord Failte or the industry is not picking up the tab.
The chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, Mr Dermott Jewell, said: "I can't help but think the organisers have got this wrong . . . They really should re-evaluate and change the scheme."