Tourists from Continent to Dublin said to be at peak

Tourism in Dublin is booming, with a daily count of 60,000 visitors in high season. But there are indications that the numbers may have peaked, at least those coming from key target areas such as France and Germany.

While overall tourist numbers grew by 9 per cent across the State last year, one out of every two tourists visits the capital, and Dublin Tourism used yesterday's announcement of its Tourism Marketing Plan 2000 to argue for a greater share of the State-wide budget administered by Bord Failte.

Dublin Tourism also availed of the opportunity to criticise some Dublin taxis and their drivers, which its chief executive, Mr Frank Magee, boldly suggested could do with a wash. Stressing the need for quality in the tourism product, he also said some service levels in Dublin's hotels merited improvement.

The number of overseas visitors who stayed in Dublin last year was 3.4 million, 200,000 up on previous years, and they contributed £600 million to the local economy, according to Mr Magee.

However, the chairman, Mr Michael Flood, said all the competitor European destination cities had tourism agencies which funded themselves through taxation, while Dublin was "dependent on Bord Failte for its largesse".

Arguing for a greater share of Bord Failte funding, Mr Flood said the current policy of promoting regional spread must be changed. Dublin, he said, was competing with London, Amsterdam and Paris. If Dublin was not available, many of the visitors would not consider Cork, Galway, Limerick or Belfast as an alternative.

Mr John Dully, chief executive of Bord Failte, said the Government's National Development Plan had identified a need to market Ireland as a whole, and whatever arrangements might come about in the North-South bodies, Bord Failte would continue to have a responsibility to fund the regional tourist agencies, as well as Dublin.

The peaking in tourist numbers from the key markets of France and Germany showed how intense competition was in the market. He instanced how tourists from Germany could enjoy a "green clean environment" in Canada for the same price as a holiday in Ireland.

Mr Dully said Bord Failte had embraced the information age, and its Internet site was generating 1.7 million visitors, double the number for 1998. By 2002, he predicted, 35 per cent of all Internet sales would be in relation to travel.

Meanwhile, the National Taxi Drivers' Union has reacted angrily to Mr Magee's comments that some taxis could do with a clean-up and the drivers could undertake some improvements in personal hygiene.

"The Carriage Office lays down regulations in the area," said its vice-president, Mr Vincent Kearns. While he did not accept that there was a problem in this area he argued that "if Frank Magee thought there was, we would be prepared to meet him this afternoon to discuss it. The media is not the place to have this debate."

Mr Kearns said one possible reason for Mr Magee's comments, as discerned by the taxi-drivers, was to seek attention for the tourism seminar.