Tag Archives: Irish tourism

A tour operators from India has visited Clare this week, in advance of attending a B2B workshop with Irish tourism enterprises in Dublin on this Thursday. The visit is being organised by Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, to encourage the visiting tour operators to extend the Ireland content of their existing programmes or to include Ireland for the first time in their 2015 programmes. The group’s itinerary included lunch at The Tea & Garden Rooms in Ballyvaughan, a visit to the Cliffs of Moher, a site inspection at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, as well as an evening at the medieval banquet in Bunratty Castle. The group stayed at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. Jim Paul, Tourism Ireland’s head of Australia and developing markets, said the visit of the group is particularly timely following the launch of the new British-Irish Visa Scheme last week. “The introduction of the British-Irish Visa Scheme is really good news, making it easier …

Hotels and guesthouses are expressing confidence for 2014 according to the latest Irish Hotels Federation’s (IHF) quarterly barometer findings. The barometer of IHF members carried out as the summer season starts shows that some 86% of hotel and guesthouses have expressed an optimistic view for future trading conditions in 2014, with some 72% of respondents indicating an increase in advance summer bookings compared to the same period last year (4% reported a decrease and 24% noted no change). Hotel and guesthouse owners have, however,  expressed renewed concern regarding pressures on their cost base, citing excessive Local Authority Rates being a key issue, with some 81% stating it is having a negative impact on their business. Local Authority Rates are the biggest single cost that hoteliers have no control over and the IHF is calling for a 30% reduction on these rates to ensure Irish tourism’s ability to compete effectively for domestic and overseas tourists. These rates are particularly affecting hotels …