Tag Archives: IHF

Clare Hoteliers have expressed serious concerns about the stimulus package announced by the Government which does not go far enough to support Irish tourism and safeguard the livelihoods of the 270,000 employed by the industry – including the 12,000 jobs supported locally by tourism in Clare. Dermot Kelly, Chair of the Shannon Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation states: “We are disappointed that the Government failed to deliver a reduction in tourism VAT. This is a missed opportunity given how highly effective the previous reduced VAT rate was in promoting increased employment. We now have a higher rate of VAT than 30 other European countries with which we compete. This is untenable from a competitiveness point of view and puts us at a serious disadvantage, particularly when consider our nearest neighbours Northern Ireland and Britain now have a tourism VAT rate of 5%.  We will be engaging further with the Government on this critical issues as part of the October …

THE latest Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) quarterly barometer showed that hotel and guesthouse owners in Clare and across the country are very optimistic about 2017, after significant growth this year. Nine in 10 IHF members say they saw increased business in 2016, while 57% grew their workforce and some 89% have plans to reinvest in their properties in 2017. Also, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the number of overseas visitors grew by 10% to 8.8 million – the highest number on record. There was an increase of 10% in holiday visitors, while business visitors and those coming to visit friends and relatives were up 12%. Elaine Fitzgerald Kane, chair of the Shannon branch of the IHF, said there has been a lot to be positive about. “Irish tourism has seen a record-breaking year in 2016 and there is a lot to celebrate. This is an outstanding achievement and a result of the hard work being carried out by …