Our tourists used to be rich Irish-Americans. Now they’re more likely thrifty Europeans. That means we need to work harder at persuading them to stay longer and spend more
ATTRACTED BY THE promise of a different experience of life on an island off Europe, two Irish-Americans, Chuck and Coleen, arrive for a fortnight’s vacation in July 1989. The Shannon stopover ensures they disembark in the heart of the midwest, where, armed with the then mighty dollar, they immediately find Irish prices to their liking. With prearranged car hire and go-as-you-please B&B vouchers, they opt for a leisurely tour of the west coast.
As many Americans have just two weeks of leave a year, Chuck and Coleen splash out on their solitary annual break. They eat in good restaurants, attend the medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle and the Laurels show in Killarney, trek the Burren, play golf in Lahinch and spend a night on the Aran Islands. If you include their spending spree at Blarney Woollen Mills, Chuck and Coleen would, according to Fáilte Ireland’s records, have contributed the handsome punt equivalent of about €1,100 to Ireland’s struggling pre-tiger economy.
Twenty years on things are less simple. Overseas visitors are now more often Hermans or Ulrikas, and they find Irish prices less to their liking. Europeans now form a much larger percentage of our tourists, and the length of a stay has shortened to an eight-day average. Herman and Ulrika are mostly lured by the captivating but difficult-to-profit-from attractions of our welcoming people and alluring scenery. As they’re on shorter trips they’re less likely to use a car, which limits visits outside the tourism honeypots. And despite the presence of an airport in every county on the west coast, the overwhelming majority fly in and out of Dublin, with many basing themselves entirely in east-coast hotels. They seem to be increasingly passive and parsimonious: taking the consumer price index into account, they now contribute only 57 per cent of what the average US holidaymaker did two decades ago.
As well as becoming shorter, more hotel- centred, less activity-based, orientated towards the east coast and focused on urban centres, holidays taken by overseas visitors are less likely to involve BBs, stays in rural areas or participation in outdoor activities – the traditional powerhouse of countryside tourism.
Clearly, something needed to be done, and steps have begun to a create a more dynamic tourism industry, to encourage longer stays and spread visitors’ spending more widely. Last month the Royal Canal reopened as a fully navigable waterway, completing the final link in a new cruising loop involving the Grand and Royal canals and the River Shannon. And last month a Failte Ireland adventure and activity conference in Killarney learned that activity holidays are now the prime growth opportunity for our tourist industry and are the most effective way to breath life into the Irish countryside.
According to conference organiser Ethna Murphy, who is manager of countryside and marine tourism with Fáilte Ireland, visitors on activity holidays stay an average of 40 per cent longer and spread their spending more widely than other tourists. “We now see activity holidays as the avenue to increasing and broadening the benefits from overseas tourism, and not just in the traditional markets for twentysomething adrenalin junkies,” she says.
As over-50s are healthier than they used to be, they are going on increasingly active holidays. Demand is also growing for adventure holidays for families. “These are the groups we are now proactively targeting,” says Murphy. “People and place remain as important selling points, but in the future we see our visitors doing more and contributing more while still having access to Ireland’s unique culture, which will continue as our strongest selling point.”
Already there are signs of green shoots. The four-star Mulranny Park Hotel, which sits in a magical but commercially challenging location on the Atlantic coast in Co Mayo, has recently experienced a surge in business from the Great Western Greenway, a newly developed walking and cycling trail that follows the route of the former Westport-Achill railway. Ronan Mahon, manager at Mulranny Park, says the 18km route has also benefited the surrounding area. “Visitors want food, packed lunches, cycle hire and walking gear, and this all brings spending to the locality. And here in the hotel we now organise a series of walking weekends throughout the year, suitable for all fitness levels. These have proven very popular – for our next weekend we already have over 100 bookings.”
Investment in the outdoors is also paying a dividend beneath Carrauntoohil. John Cronin of Cronin’s Yard, which offers facilities for walkers at the traditional starting point for the summit, has seen a jump in business since new bridges were built to provide a safer route. “We have had a big growth in English walkers coming this summer, and they now account for a third of our business,” he says. The yard has seen 25 per cent more visitors, and Cronin is optimistic about the future. He believes that the looped walking route that has just been completed beneath our highest mountain “will provide a great moderate walk for those wanting to get a close-up view of Carrauntoohil without a full ascent to the summit”.
Ethna Murphy of Fáilte Ireland is also bullish. She believes the recession is showing itself to be the father of invention. “Sure, times are hard, and we now have to be more inventive, but a wave of new innovative businesses is springing up and moving our tourism offering up the value chain,” says Murphy, who adds that “whether it’s cycling in Mayo, rambling in Kerry, sailing in Cork or mountain biking in Limerick, a wealth of recreational opportunities now exists in the Irish outdoors”.
Try it for size Some memorable Irish outdoor experiences
Cycle the Great Western GreenwayNewport Bicycle (098-42900; newport-bicycle.com) is a small business that services the newly opened Co Mayo route. Hire a bike here, then cycle the 18km to Mulrany in a little over an hour. Have lunch in the award-winning restaurant of the Mulranny Park Hotel before a leisurely return spin to Newport.
Get to know our highest mountainThe summit of Carrauntoohil, in Co Kerry, may not be your bag, but you can still get up close and personal with the peak on a newly developed loop walk. Head out from Cronin's Yard (about 15km west of Killarney) on a two and a half hour walk beneath most of Ireland's highest mountains. Then reward yourself with tea and scones by the fire in the Cronin's Yard tea room (064-6624044, croninsyard.com).
Get a rushThe people of Ballyhoura, in Co Limerick, have been known for their community-development initiatives for decades, so it is no surprise that they recently established Ireland's first dedicated mountain-biking park. And it isn't only for adrenalin junkies. You can get as much of a rush as you want on a choice of trails, ranging from long and demanding to short and moderate. Bikes are for hire at the trail head (087-2717330; trailriders.ie), and showers and bike washes are provided.
Sample the outdoorsKitesurfing is a fast-growing sport that you don't even have to leave the capital to take part in. In Dublin, Pure Magic provides lessons and kite hire for this exhilarating sport almost every windy day. Its headquarters are at 370 Clontarf Road, opposite Dollymount Strand (01-8054912; puremagic.ie).
