Ireland’s tourism industry has been at the cold front of this recession and is costing jobs in all regions.

What was a thriving sector two years ago has now fallen into crisis and the number of overseas visitors to Ireland plummeted in 2009. Fine Gael believes the tourist industry is a vital indigenous industry, provides valuable employment across all parts of the country and should be properly supported through our economic recovery.
 
Current Problems
  • The collapse in the tourist industry is reflected in tourism revenue for 2009 which fell by €1.1bn to €5.2bn, its lowest level since 2004
  • Overseas visitor numbers fell by close to one million in 2009 compared to 2008
  • Most worryingly, Ireland’s largest tourism market, the United Kingdom, declined by 16%
  • Access to Ireland has become worryingly restricted with the ongoing removal of routes and restrictions in airline capacity at both Shannon and Dublin airports
  • Like many other sectors, tourism businesses are facing a serious credit flow crisis and huge debt problems as a result of the economic downturn.
Government has failed to do anything to help struggling tourism businesses. Instead of bringing down costs and encouraging competitiveness, Government has introduced a new levy on the sector, the Departure tax, which has had a detrimental impact on the number of visitors coming to Ireland. Government advisors have produced a recovery plan for the tourism industry which urged amongst other things, the abolition of the Departure tax but this has fallen on deaf ears.

Fine Gael Solution
Fine Gael’s plan for the tourism industry begins with strong political will. Fine Gael believes tourism should be repositioned within the Departmental structure to reflect its importance as an industry.

In addition, Fine Gael will:
  • Immediately abolish the Departure tax;
  • Reduce the 13.5% VAT rate on hotel accommodation and restaurants to 10%;
  • Reduce the upper rate of employer’s PRSI by 20% and the lower rate of employer’s PRSI by 50%
  • Reduce local authority rates, freeze Government and local authority charges and reduce energy costs;
  • Totally overhaul the JLC wage setting system
  • Reduce the administration cost and complexity of Irish visitor visas;
  • Rollout high capacity broadband to regional areas;
  • Request that the Competition Authority carries out an investigation into predatory pricing and reckless trading in the hotels sector