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| DROP IN VISITOR NUMBERS ALARMING - UPTON |
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The substantial decrease in visitor numbers to Ireland is nothing short of startling. While some of the drop might be attributed to the volcanic activity, the fall of 25 per cent compared to April 2009 must set alarm bells ringing in the Dept of Tourism. It is of particular concern that the number of visitors from the North America has collapsed, with the numbers of visitors down by one third. North America has always been a relatively strong market for Irish tourism and with the fall in the value of the euro against the dollar, we should be seeing more Americans here, nor fewer. It is clear that we are falling down in the effort to attract Americans and we need to ramp up whatever promotional campaigns are currently under way in that market. The miniscule number of visitors we are attracting from Asia must also be addressed as a matter of urgency. Asia represents a massive market and we are simply not tapping into it. India, The Gulf States and in particular China, are becoming major travellers and they are markets Ireland cannot afford to ignore, even in the short term. The significance of Chinese tourism is highlighted by the fact that last year 42.2 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad while in 2001 that figure was just 7 million. Total global spending by Chinese visitors is up 16% from the 2008 figure to about $42 billion dollars. Essentially, if Ireland is to become successful at attracting tourists from the expanding long haul markets a reformed and speeded up entry in to Ireland has to be put into place. A successful tourism industry is crucial to Ireland’s economic recovery. Ireland has enjoyed great success in the past and we can in the future with a little imagination and investment. According to Fáilte Ireland calculations, for every additional €1 million spent by tourists in Ireland, we can create 23 jobs. Tourism provided €1.2 billion in taxation revenues in 2009 and employed almost 120,000 people, more than agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors or the financial services sector. Just this week, Labour put forward a Dail Private Members Motion, complete with concrete proposals to attract more visitors to our shores. I would urge Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin to heed our concerns, and adopt our proposals.
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