IRELAND’S DISTINCTIVE Atlantic seaboard landscape is no longer a draw for European tourists who want a more “participative visitor experience”, according to new research.
A study published yesterday by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation shows a 37 per cent drop in demand on the west coast for visitor accommodation over the past decade.
However, the improved road network may be contributing to an increase in “day tours” to the west from Dublin.
Ten years ago, some 70 per cent of overseas holidaymakers spent time in the west, but this has dropped to 52-53 per cent, and the region is even losing out in the European “growth market” for Ireland, the study notes.
In 1999, visitors booked some 15.1 million bed nights on the west coast, compared to 9.8 million in 2010. The downturn was steepest in the midwest Shannon region and in the northwest, where overseas visitors have virtually halved.
Presenting the findings in Galway, consultant Noel Sweeney of Tourism and Transport Consult International said there was an “urgent need” for a national aviation policy, as the number of airports in the west was militating against developing sustainable international air links.
The region also required a co-ordinated approach to new route development, he said, and the west coast should rebrand itself as “Atlantic Ireland”.
Mr Sweeney acknowledged there was an international trend towards “urbanised tourism”, where visitors were tending to stay in urban “hubs” like Galway at the expense of rural areas.
This trend was heavily influenced by low-cost airlines and by an ageing travelling population which preferred to stay in cities, he said.
