Fáilte Ireland chairman says tourism sector is optimistic

FÁILTE IRELAND is targeting a 2 per cent to 7 per cent rise in tourist numbers this year following a 6 per cent rise last year.

The tourism agency is also preparing for “The Gathering”, next year’s global Irish homecoming which is being billed as Ireland’s biggest ever tourism project.

However, Fáilte Ireland’s chief executive Shaun Quinn said there was no room for complacency among tourism businesses.

“2012 is extraordinarily difficult to predict and that’s an understatement.”

Mr Quinn said growth in all key markets was expected, with a 2 per cent to 5 per cent increase in British visitors targeted, and increases of up to 7 per cent in visitors from Europe and the US.

Last year visitor numbers from Britain increased by almost 4 per cent to 2.8 million, while arrivals from mainland Europe increased by 8per cent. US arrivals grew by more than 5 per cent.

Mr Quinn said the greatest threat to the fragile recovery came from global factors. “Any downturn in the global economy – or even significant fears about a downturn – has the potential to undermine the fragile recovery made so far in Irish tourism.”

The increase in energy and fuel costs was also highlighted as a key concern for tourism operators.

Fáilte Ireland chairman Redmond O’Donoghue said this was the first time in three or four years that the tourism industry was upbeat about its prospects.

The “extraordinary success” of visits by Queen Elizabeth and Barack Obama had provided priceless coverage and boosted the feel-good factor.

The visits generated almost €300 million worth of publicity through 40,000 articles and broadcasts, according to Fáilte Ireland.

While visitor numbers had increased, Mr O’Donoghue highlighted the softening in visitor numbers in the final three months of the year and said consumer confidence was “a fragile flower”.

Mr Quinn also pointed out that some rural parts of the State saw no increase in business.

He said the perception of Ireland as a value-for-money destination continued to improve last year. Early indications from Fáilte Ireland’s survey of overseas travellers were that satisfaction with value for money was at its highest among French and German visitors since the introduction of the euro 10 years ago.

Satisfaction with value for money among British visitors also increased but not to the same extent due to the impact of the sterling exchange rate .

Fáilte Ireland research found that many tourism enterprises were optimistic about the year ahead, with 46 per cent of accommodation providers expecting an increase in business.

Mr Quinn said Fáilte Ireland would be embarking on an aggressive home-holiday marketing campaign given the signs greater numbers of Irish families would not be holidaying overseas this year.

He said the tourism industry was in good shape to fight for business in the year ahead. Eight in 10 businesses had increased their sales and marketing efforts. Some 71 per cent of businesses said they now offered more competitive prices.