Tag Archives: Michael Vaughan

THE tourism industry is up 20% on last year in some parts of the county. As the summer draws to a close, former chairman of the Irish Hotels Federation and Lahinch hotelier, Michael Vaughan, has said that, on average across the county, it is up by 5% or 6% and that the hotel sector could be back to 2007 peak levels within the next two years. “It was slow enough at the early part of the year but it improved as we got towards the main months and certainly the Wild Atlantic Way has brought tourists out along the coast, there is no doubt about that. Certainly there has been an improvement of at least 5% and 6% on last year and last year was up too, so we are getting closer to where we were before the bust came about. I think the figure we would love to reach is back to 2007 figures, which was the height of …

As the State exams drew to a close this week, Met Éireann issued a status yellow ‘high temperature warning’ for County Clare, with temperatures on Wednesday reaching between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius. According to Met Éireann, the maximum temperature recorded at the Shannon Airport weather station on Tuesday was 25.8 degrees Celsius. By midday on Wednesday, temperatures had already reached 24 degrees and the warm weather is forecast to remain into the weekend, with Thursday, Friday and Saturday to each hit 20 degrees, though there will be some cloud cover. This is not just good news for those out enjoying the fine weather but also for businesses here. “In Lahinch, every car parking space was filled,” Michael Vaughan, owner of Vaughan Lodge and former president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said on Wednesday afternoon. “I see people parked on verges and the beach is thronged, so there are plenty of visitors to the area but I am not certain …

By Owen Ryan THERE were fewer people on the live register in Clare last month than was the case in any month of March since 2008. Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed that last month there were 9,023 people signing on in the Banner county, down from 9,242 in February. That drop of 239 equates to a drop of 2.5% in a single month, and, when compared to the figure of 9,869 in March of last year, the decline in the number signing on is slightly over 8.5% in one year. Comparing the figures for the month of March over the last number of years is quite telling. In March 2007, with the country still in rude economic health, there were just 4,102 people on the live register. Twelve months later, the number was almost 25% higher at 5,126. Over the next year, the economy would decline dramatically and, in March of 2009, the number on the live register …

THE high cost of doing business in Ireland is the single most pressing issue for Irish hotels and guesthouses according to an industry survey carried out by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF). Federation president, Michael Vaughan has called for immediate and radical Government action to tackle public sector costs, including local authority rates, water charges and energy-related levies. He called for a clearly defined national competitiveness strategy for all business costs under the control of the Government. Speaking on the eve of the IHF’s 76th annual conference, he pointed out that the survey, which was carried out earlier this month, cites excessive local authority rates as the most critical issue facing hoteliers in terms cost competitiveness. The IHF stresses that this is stifling Irish tourism’s ability to compete more effectively for domestic and overseas tourists. “The hotels sector stabilised in 2013 largely as a result of the relentless work of hotels and guesthouses to slash costs where there was any level of …

THE Irish Hotels Federation is calling on Leaving Certificate students to consider a future in tourism. President of the IHF, Michael Vaughsan said that there are excellent career opportunities within the tourism and hospitality sector, particularly for skilled and qualified employees looking to progress rapidly to management roles. He noted that by now students throughout the country will have submitted their CAO applications. However, over the coming weeks, thousands will continue to examine their course options further and many will opt to avail of the change of Course facility, which is available up until March 1. Commenting on the career opportunities in the sector, the Lahinch hotelier said, “The outlook for Irish tourism is very positive and there are many exciting opportunities for anyone beginning a career in the sector. We’re experiencing strong growth with trips to Ireland up significantly over the last 12 months and this is having a direct impact on employment.” There are a large number of …

THE tourism industry in Clare has enjoyed a better 2013, after a number of tough years, with much of the turnaround due to The Gathering, an initiative much maligned before the year began. Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, who is also president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said The Gathering has been a significant factor. While there was some cynicism about the initiative at the start of the year, with actor Gabriel Byrne claiming it was more about money-grabbing than anything else, Mr Vaughan said it had succeeded and that communities had bought into it. “You’d have to say it [The Gathering] was a 100% success. When it started off and the initial hopes were outlined, a lot in the tourism trade believed they were only aspirational. As the year went on, it certainly gathered momentum and it wasn’t because of any one huge event but there were lots of small, cumulative events that have led to an overall increase in …

HOTELIERS have rejected as “outrageous” claims by Hotels.com that the average hotel price in Ireland has increased. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, which are based on a nationally representative sample of prices, show that inflation in accommodation services was at 0% for the twelve months to June 2013 and was in fact down at -1.1% for the twelve months to July 2013, the Irish Hotels Federation asserts. “The figures used for the Hotels.com survey are based on a very limited share of Irish hotels online sales and the sample size is only reflective of accommodation available on the Hotels.com website. It is too small to be representative of the 60,000 hotel and guesthouse rooms available for sale every day in Ireland,” said Lahinch-based, Michael Vaughan, Irish Hotels Federation . “It is irresponsible and misleading for Hotels.com to give the impression that hotel prices have risen when this is clearly not the case as borne out by the most recent CSO …