Hopes high for bumper tourist season in Clare

2012 looks set to be a bumper year for tourism businesses in Clare, according to industry experts. Recently released figures from the CSO show heightened numbers of visitors to the country and Irish Country Hotels show an increase in bookings in traditional, Irish family-owned hotels.
Statistics from Irish Country Hotels, a collection of 26 family-run hotels across Ireland, reveal a 21% increase in bookings for January and February compared to the same period in 2011 including a 5% increase from the UK. The figures were unveiled as Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced the inclusion of Irish Country Hotels as the latest member of Guaranteed Irish scheme. The group, which includes The Armada Hotel in Miltown Malbay and Hyland’s Burren Hotel in Ballyvaughan, are the first hotels to be given the Guaranteed Irish logo, Ireland’s recognised symbol for Irish manufactured goods and services.
The Irish Country Hotel bookings for January and February show a significant rise in business from the overseas market, in particular from France and the USA. They also illustrate a total increase in bed-night bookings for the first two months of the year is up one-fifth on the same period last year. Irish Country Hotels showed growth in bookings from the overseas market for the period up 19%. According to the figures, the highest increase in bookings is from France, which has seen a rise of 84%. The number of bookings from the USA is up 73%, even though national figures show that tourist numbers from the US are down by 4.3% and this increase in bookings is more remarkable, the group claims, “as Americans don’t usually travel in an election year”.
“These figures are great news and will have a good impact on employment in the small communities where these traditional Irish properties are located,” according to Mary Fitzgerald, group chairperson of Irish Country Hotels.
“Our main focus has been overseas and we believe the new lower VAT for hotels is having an impact. If these figures continue, we will be able to employ more part-time workers this season. A 20% growth means 20% more beds to be made, breakfasts to be served, more tourists spending in shops and so on so it is good for all the community,” she said.
The most recent Central Statistics Office figures support optimism in the area showing that trips to Ireland between last December and February were up by 2.7% compared to the same period 12 months earlier. There were 1,145,900 overseas visitors to Ireland during this three-month period with Britain showing strong growth with visit numbers up by 6.6%. Visits from Europe were up too but North American visits were down by 4.3%.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has said he hopes the gradual recovery in the tourism industry will continue throughout 2012.
“This year has got off to a positive start and it’s good to see visitor numbers continuing to grow into February. We still have a long way to go to restore visitor numbers back to pre-boom levels and some markets have performed better than others. In particular, the strong performance from Great Britain, our largest individual market, is very encouraging,” Minister Varadkar said.
Clare senator Martin Conway expressed his disappointment at the decrease in American visitors nationally but added, “We must bear in mind that the US economy is going through a difficult time and Americans are anecdotally reluctant to go abroad during a Presidential Election year. Our tourism authorities remain focused on the American market. We continue to tap into the vast numbers of American people, who are interested in exploring their Irish ancestry. The value of the attention focused on Ireland during St Patrick’s week and the Taoiseach’s trip to the White House cannot be underestimated. President Obama’s pledge to return to Irish shores if he is re-elected also provides a positive boost,” he said.
“Ireland has so much to offer international visitors. Not only can we promise incredible scenery and a great welcome, Ireland is better value than ever with fantastic restaurants and top class hotels. The special 9% VAT rate on tourism services, the visa waiver programme and our marketing strategy overseas will help to ensure this positive upward trend continues over the year ahead,” he added.
Senator Conway also said An Taoiseach’s visit to China this week offers “a great opportunity to expand into an extremely lucrative marketplace”.
Clare Fine Gael’s Joe Carey used his Dáil time on Wednesday to outline the potentials that exist for Ireland-China tourism business and asked the Minister for Tourism, Leo Varadkar, to outline the plans of his department to build on this tourist sector.
Deputy Carey highlighted the potential benefits of increasing the number of Chinese visits to Ireland and called for an aggressive promotion of the current visa waiver, which has been extended.
He outlined the situation in Italy where embassy and foreign affairs officials have targeted the Chinese tourism market by introducing scores of mobile offices sponsored by their Department of Foreign Affairs to both promote and process visa applications. Deputy Carey believes the same type of scheme and processes could work here and he will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to take this on board. Deputy Carey outlined the work of Clare-based company, Golf, Fishing and Shooting Ireland (GFS) Ireland and asked for particular supports be given to companies to travel to China and develop their markets. He also asked whether or not the Department of Tourism or Tourism Ireland have plans to increase their marketing drive in China.