Congratulations to ITIC and Tourism & Transport Consult International Ltd on the publication of its recent report 'A Changed World For Irish Tourism - facing up to the challenges of recovery'. It is really excellent and is intended to inform decision making on market prioritisation, product response and resource allocations on the part of state agencies and businesses engaged in tourism in Ireland. Among its more notable findings -
- Holiday makers from mainland Europe increased from 0.8 million in 2000 to a peak of 1.7 million in 2007 while over the same period, visits from Britain remained almost unchanged at close to 1.7 million each year and at around 0.7 million from North America
- Despite the international trend towards more active holidays, the number of overseas visitors taking an activity holiday in Ireland such as golf, fishing, equestrian and cycling has been trending downwards, with walking the only activity centre showing growth
- Dublin is the destination of choice for more than two fifths of the market. Last year one in every two holiday trips from Britain, Spain, Italy and the Nordics was to visit Dublin only
- Air services have become the dominant mode of access to Ireland with 90% of holidaymakers now arriving by air. The share of the market travelling by ferries has dropped from 40% in 1997 to 10% today
- Air access capacity is down 6% for the 2010 summer season, following a 10% contraction in 2009
- Recommendations for recovery include a clear prioritisation of effort in the top 4 producing overseas source markets (GB, USA, Germany & France), increase in the marketing of Dublin as a distinct destination, maintaining adequate access to Ireland, a focus on developing and communicating better value for money offering and a review of state agency arrangements
The full report can be accessed here
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