This article is from page 3 of the 2009-10-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
CLARE hoteliers yesterday called on the Government to take emergency action to salvage the county’s tour- ism sector, following the collapse in foreign visitor numbers this year.
According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday, the number of UK visi- tors travelling to Ireland has dropped by more than 24 per cent in just 12 months.
“The bottom has fallen out of the British tourist market, which is hav-
ing a significant impact on the tour- ism sector in Clare. Not a single meaningful action of substance has been taken by the Government to recover the situation,’ said Michael Vaughan, Chairman of the Shannon Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation Cists)
“The Government can no longer stand idly by and do nothing. We need imaginative solutions from our leaders and, in replying to a recent parliamentary question, Miu£inister Hanafin’s rejection out of hand of an IHF proposal to give free travel
to old age pensioners from the EU shows a reluctance to grasp the issue and adapt to new ways of thinking. It is no longer acceptable for the Gov- ernment to dismiss suggestions that could actually give Ireland a compet- itive advantage in attracting visitors from our main markets.”
Much of the blame for the collapse of the overseas tourism sectors 1s be- ing directed towards the controver- sial €10 travel tax introduced by the Government in March.
In an unprecedented show of unity, Ireland’s three largest airlines have
called for the Government to axe the €10 tourist tax. Christoph Mueller of Aer Lingus, Geoffrey O’Byrne-White of CityJet and Michael O’Leary of Ryanair have issued a joint statement aimed at forcing the Government to go back on the tax.
“The loss of 600,000 visitors so far this year confirms that the collapse in Irish tourism is accelerating as the €10 tourist tax makes Ireland an un- competitive tourist destination,’ said a Ryanair spokesperson. “In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all
scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges, in some cases to zero, in order to stimulate tourism.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed yester- day that the Government has fallen short in the money they budgeted to get from the introduction of the travel tax.
From March 30 to August 31 some €57.9 million has been raised through the travel tax, prompting Clare TD Pat Breen (FG) to accuse the Government of scoring an “own goal” by persisting with the travel Fed @