THIS IS likely to be a tough year in the tourism and leisure sectors as the number of foreign visitors is expected to fall. Already, some enterprises have battened down the hatches by reducing staff numbers and introducing three-day weeks. Others have simply gone out of business. A return to growth in the sector may be delayed for two years.
In these hard times, surrendering to pessimism would be the easy option. But those with long experience of the tourism sector know that it operates in cycles and that better times lie ahead. The industry experienced a fall in the number of visitors in 2001 and 2002, following 9/11 and the economic downturn caused by the dot-com crash. But it went on to entertain a rising number of foreign customers for each of the following five years. And while current economic upheavals are of a far greater magnitude, so too are the remedial measures being put in place by governments across the globe. We must be in a position to take advantage of the upturn in tourism when it comes. Particular problems have been created by the fall in value of sterling and the dollar against the euro. These are two of our most important markets and surveys have indicated that consumers there are extremely price-sensitive. As a consequence, initial growth is expected to come from the eurozone and from the domestic market.
The price of food and drink in hotels, restaurants and bars has been a concern for some time. Competitiveness has been lost through inflation and higher prices. Hoteliers complain of high energy, labour and local service costs. But if customers feel they are not receiving value for money, they will vote with their feet. So now is the time for the industry to take a hard look at the quality and range of services being provided and to come up with creative and attractive solutions.
Foreign tourists hope for a unique range of experiences. Hotels and guesthouses must promote these opportunities through readily accessible websites. Most visitors now source their holidays and plan their itineraries through the internet. Unless attention is drawn to specific local attractions, leisure activities and beauty spots, they may go elsewhere. Fine scenery along with aspects of historic and cultural history represent core attractions. But fishing, golfing, walking, surfing, inland waterway cruising and coach tours provide supporting infrastructure.
The hotel sector is suffering from an oversupply of accommodation, caused by the introduction of ill-judged tax-breaks during the building boom. For the past two years, growth in room capacity outstripped demand and occupancy rates fell. That is now being reflected in closed hotels, cut-price deals and special short-stay offers.
Because domestic holidaymakers make up the bulk of hotel business, extended packages should be designed to cater for families during the coming holiday season. Having endured wet and dull summers in 2007 and 2008, Irish people are surely due a return to the hot and dry conditions of 2006.