2010 VISITOR NUMBERS AND REVENUE

World tourism arrivals grew by almost 7% in 2010 and visits to Europe by 3% according to the UNWTO.

Despite this positive trend, the picture here is very different. ITIC's Year-end Review 2010 makes for grim reading. It estimates -

• A decline in overseas visitor numbers of 16% to 5.5 million visits compared with 2009
• A fall of 33% or €1.7 billion in earnings since 2007

We now have two million fewer visitors than in 2007 and of course, fewer people employed in the sector. Fáilte Ireland estimates that a whopping 83,666 jobs were lost between 2007 and 2009.
The good news from the world tourism organisation is its forecast that international tourist arrivals are set to almost double from 880 million in 2009 to 1.5 billion by 2020. This represents an enormous opportunity for Ireland over the coming decade, not just for job creation, but also for export growth and exchequer revenue.

While our politicians search for solutions to reduce unemployment, it is worth noting that even a return  to 2007 levels would create close to 100,000 jobs and almost €2 billion in revenue. Yet no political party really seems to understand the sector's potential for job creation.
Normally, costly infrastructure would be required to make this happen. However, our hospitality & tourism product has never been better.  With new airport terminals in Dublin and Cork, a new national convention centre, a new motorway network, improved rail services, world class sports stadia, theatres, hotels, restaurants and golf courses, we just need to find new ways to persuade people to come here.
It is clear to me that the proper development of the sector is really bigger than the sector itself. It is a 'whole of government' and a 'whole of society' issue. Time to get everyone involved!
(Fine Gael's recent tourism policy addresses some of this and I have written about is in an earlier post)