Tourist figures fall 10% in February

PASSENGER NUMBERS travelling to and from the Republic fell more than 10 per cent in February, according to unpublished figures from Fáilte Ireland.

The figures exceed the worst-case scenario suggested by tourism chiefs at the start of the year, and presage a difficult year for Irish tourism. Ryanair said the figures revealed an extraordinary decline in tourism which, if maintained, would result in the loss of over 2,500 jobs at Irish airports.

A Fáilte Ireland spokesman said the figures formed part of internal discussions and had been shared with airlines and other interests. He declined to provide further information, saying it involved “raw data” not for publication.

Ryanair said the numbers showed the Government had to scrap the “stupid and unfair” €10 travel tax which came into effect last Wednesday. It said the tax would devastate tourism and pointed out other countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, had scrapped similar taxes.

The Fáilte Ireland spokesman blamed the decline in visitor numbers on the credit crunch and the “global situation”: “It makes domestic tourism more important than ever, which is why we’ve launched our biggest-ever advertising campaign.”

Tourism Ireland predicts a 4 to 9 per cent fall in tourism for the whole of Ireland in 2009, with revenues falling by 4 to 15 per cent.