NEW TOURISM POLICY IS A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Whilst I welcome the publication of the Government’s new tourism policy
‘People, Place and Policy – Growing Tourism to 2025’, I believe it lacks the vision and ambition required to fully capitalise on the sector's potential for growth over the coming decade and beyond.

With our key actions focused on overseas marketing, product development and skills-based training (as per the tourism policy review of 2003), and our governance model unchanged, I see no evidence of a vision bold and brave enough to realise the aspiration of participants at the Global Irish Economic Forum 2011, for Ireland to be “the best small country in the world in which to do tourism”.

The draft policy statement sets itself the goal of increasing revenue from overseas visitors, excluding carrier receipts, from €3.3 billion to €5 billion by 2025. It also aims to increase employment in the sector by 50,000 from the current estimated levels of 200,000. 

When compared with the targets set out in the tourism policy review of 2003, what strikes me is just how conservative our aims and ambitions have become. Back then, our goal was to increase revenue from overseas visitors, excluding carrier receipts, from €3.2 billion to €6 billion by 2012. Additionally, Fáilte Ireland estimated that the sector employed 257,000 back in 2007.

Meanwhile, according to the World Tourism Organisation, international tourism receipts grew from €513 billion in 2002 to €873 billion in 2013. Over the same period, revenues from overseas tourism to Ireland have been largely flat - €3.2 billion in 2002, €3.9 billion in 2007, €2.9 billion in 2011 and  €3.3 billion in 2013. 

Why are our hopes and aspirations for the sector now so muted?  The global economic recession makes an easy answer.  Looking a little deeper, I believe that the leadership within the sector has become ever more conservative and, coupled with the distinct lack of vision evident in the draft policy statement; we are effectively standing in the way of our own success.      

We only need to take a look at our own agri-food sector for an example of a positive and ambitious approach to policy development. In its vision of smart, green, growth, Food Harvest 2020 recognises that ‘the most compelling picture that emerges in the decade ahead is one of opportunity’.  

What we need now is an ambitious vision for Irish tourism, backed by strong public and private sector leadership, informed by up to date knowledge and research, and supported by a cohesive framework within which all the actors pull together.

The OECD in its “National Tourism Policy Review of Ireland” (2004) identified that ‘substantive change is required of Government Policy, in the delivery of that policy by the Tourism State Agencies, in the work of industry representative bodies and, most importantly, at the level of individual enterprises throughout the industry’.

In a nutshell - a change in the governance model of Irish tourism is the ONE policy action that has the capacity to radically transform the prospects for Irish tourism.

And, here we are in 2015 with a tourism policy that does nothing to address the very obvious need to improve the co-ordination of tourism policy - across national and local government, state agencies and industry. It is clear that the status quo will be maintained even though it is a major cause of fragmentation in service provision across the sector.

The policy makes clear that the provision of future state supports for investment in tourism shall be evidence based. However, the evidence base in Irish tourism is extremely weak, as the Report of the Tourism Renewal Group (2009) pointed out. It highlighted that, as an integral part of the knowledge economy, competing in the global marketplace, tourism must have a strong knowledge base.

It also emphasised, that to maintain competitiveness, the industry needs product, management and marketing innovation, supported by a world-class research, education and training capacity in third‐level institutions. It pointed to the absence of designated State funding for research in tourism and contrasted this to an annual research budget for agriculture in excess of €100 million.    

Meanwhile, the UNWTO (2013) has forecast that the number of international tourist arrivals will grow from just over 1 billion in 2012 to 1.8 billion by 2030. It is in this context that I believe tourism has the potential to become a ‘game-changer’ for Ireland in terms of jobs, foreign earnings and tax revenues.

However, the new tourism policy is bereft of new ideas, inspiration, and ambition. It offers us simply more of the same in terms of actions, safe targets, and conservative thinking.  In this increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace, more of the same will simply not do.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON IRISH TOURISM POLICY LAUNCHED

In 2011, during discussions on tourism at the Global Irish Economic Forum, John Fitzpatrick identified the need for a long-term strategy for Irish tourism. This was subsequently endorsed by Forum participants and short-listed as a key proposal for action by government (see final report).

Now, almost two years later, a three-step process in developing a tourism strategy in finally underway as follows;

1. A public consultation has been launched. Interested parties are invited to submit written views/observations/suggestions to support a competitive and sustainable tourism policy in Ireland. These should be submitted by Friday 1st November 2013 to tourismpolicy@dttas.ie

2. A Tourism Policy Statement will then be finalised by Summer 2014. This statement will set out the Minister's priorities in terms of

• the contribution tourism is to make to national economic and social goals
• how that contribution will be measured and benchmarked, and
• in what manner tourism can best make its contribution

3. A detailed Strategy and Action Plan will then be developed, based on the priorities identified in the tourism policy statement.

Meanwhile, the power of travel and tourism to transform lives is increasingly being recognised by governments around the world. The most obvious example of this is the G20 Leaders Declaration 2012.

This year, President Bill Clinton challenged tourism industry leaders at the WTTC's Global Summit to take the mantle of economic responsibility, with tourism as a game changer.

This strategy review offers tourism stakeholders here, the opportunity to convince policymakers, that tourism can be the game changer for Ireland.

OVERSEAS VISITOR NUMBERS TO IRELAND 2000-2012

 6,517 million overseas trips were made to Ireland in 2012, an increase of 0.2% on 2011 (6,505), according to recent figures released by the CSO. 

In Europe, international tourist arrivals in 2012 were 535 million, an increase of 17 million on 2011 (+3%).  Central and Eastern Europe destinations fared best (+ 8%), followed by Western Europe (+3%) and Southern Mediterranean Europe (+2%).

The number of visitor arrivals to Ireland in 2012 is just 224,000 more than the number of visitors in 2000, as the table below illustrates -

Visitor numbers to Ireland 2000-2012

• 2000           6,293m
• 2001           5,990m
• 2002           6,065m
• 2003           6,369m
• 2004           6,574m
• 2005           6,977m
• 2006           7,709m
• 2007           8,012m
• 2008           7,839m
• 2009           6,927m
• 2010           6,037m
• 2011           6,505m
• 2012           6.517m

Meanwhile, global international visitor arrivals grew from 675 million to 1.035 billion over the same twelve year period. This growth trend is set to continue with the number of international visitor arrivals globally forecast to reach 1.8 billion by 2030.
Tourism is a huge opportunity for Ireland....to create jobs, help tackle long-term unemployment, increase youth employment, reduce the national budget deficit, increase social inclusion and regenerate regions and communities.
It seems obvious to to me that an ambitious, co-ordinated and adequately resourced tourism policy should be central the Irish government's employment strategy. However, this is not the case.
Government focus lies primarily in supporting other sectors such as ICT, energy, manufacturing, health, green economy and agriculture and food, as the recent progress report on the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 demonstrates.
In an increasingly competitive global tourism environment, Ireland's share of international tourist arrivals will continue to fall unless tourism is repositioned as a key economic driver for the country.

THE MARKETING REQUIREMENTS FOR DUBLIN

Readers will be aware that last December, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport dissolved Dublin Tourism and transfered its activities into Fáilte Ireland. As a result, tourism interests in the capital were concerned that Dublin would loose out in the increasingly competitive city break market, particularly as Fáilte Ireland has no remit to market Irish tourism overseas.
Last March, the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) commissioned Tourism Development International (TDI) to prepare a study on the marketing requirements for tourism in Dublin. This study, published in June, correctly identified a vision for the City that is broader than tourism. It says that Dublin's future as a sustainable city depends on it being an excellent place to live, work, learn, recreate and visit.
The report notes that Dublin's potential as a tourism destination has yet to be fully realised.The achievement of a growth target of 6.2% per year to 2020 would, it suggets, result in an additional 2.7 million overseas visitors, €750 million extra in overseas tourism revenues per annum and 27,000 additional new jobs.
Dublin's main competitors have, according to the report, organisational structures in place to mobilise effective and sustained marketing campaigns for their cities. Despite this, I am surprised at the finding that there is no one model which emerges as ideal for Dublin. For example, the very successful private sector model, established by the city authorities in New York, is now widely copied elsewhere.
The report suggests that a Destination Marketing Alliance for Dublin should be set up within the organisational architecture of Fáilte Ireland, and that new international marketing campaigns would be developed with and executed by Tourism Ireland under Service Level Agreements.
While I wish this initiative well, it's difficult to see how this proposed structure can deliver on the vision for Dublin as a major centre for communications, business, education, enjoyment and investment.

VISAS STILL A MAJOR BARRIER TO TOURISM GROWTH

Despite the huge potential offered by emerging markets such as China and India, our visa system is still a major barrier to tourism growth.
Readers will know that in 2011, the Irish government introduced a new holiday and short-stay Visa waiver programme for 16 countries whose nationals previously required a visa to visit Ireland. This programme allows nationals of countries such as India and China who have a short-term UK visa to come to Ireland, without the need for a separate visa. This scheme, which will run until 2016 is obviously welcome. But what do we know about the UK visa system?
Well, the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) is highly critical of it. It recently revealed that hundreds of millions of pounds are lost to the UK economy every year because its visa process is so alienating, that applicants give up and decide to go elsewhere.
The ETOA cite the following examples:

• In 2010, just 3% of Chinese visitors to Europe obtained a UK visa, 2% obtained both UK and Schengen visas and 95% obtained just a Schengen visa 
• France now attracts over 50% more visitors from India than the UK 
• In 2009, Switzerland joined the Schengen Area. As a result, Indian visitor arrivals to Switzerland increased by 49% between 2008and 2010. This compares with a growth rate of 3% in arrivals from India to the UK over the same period
• The UK tourist visa costs £78 and offers two countries, the Schengen visa costs €60 and offers 26 countries

These figures suggest that it's time for a radical re-think of our tourist visa system.

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN VISITOR ARRIVALS IN 2012

International tourist arrivals worldwide grew by 5.7% in the first two months of 2012 according to the UNWTO's recent World Tourism Barometer. Europe's results were ahead of expectations  (+5%), with destinations in Northern Europe and Western Europe performing even better (+6%).
Unfortunately, while this represents good news for Europe, the news for Ireland isn't quite so positive. The total number of trips to Ireland decreased by 1.2% in the period January-March 2012 compared with the same period last year.
It will be very interesting to see if the 6% increase in visitor numbers to Northern and Western Europe can be sustained for the rest of the year. Watch this space!

SUMMER TIMES

It's been another interesting summer with lots happening. Some of the highlights for me were as follows:

• The reduced vat rate came into effect on the 1st July (from 13.5% to 9%)
• Almost €6 million worth of funding for four tourism projects was announced under Fáilte Ireland's Tourism Capital Investment Programme as follows: €2.7 million for a new setting for the Book of Kells within the grounds of Trinity College, €2.4 million for an intepretative centre at Garnish Island, €430,353for a Downhill Mountain Bike Trail in Killarney and €212,250 for the further development of infrastructure at Lough Rynn including the existing caravan and capsite, a rowing facility and provision of fishing pontoons
• PSO subsidies to regional airports in Sligo, Knock, Galway and Waterford were abolished. However the government decided to continue to support services to Kerry and Donegal airports. Loganair has been awarded a three year contract for the Donegal/Dublin service and Aer Arann the contract for the Kerry Dublin service were will enjoy a subsidy
• The final phase of the Great Western Greenway opened, a superb 42 km off-road cycling and walking route from Westport to Achill
• ITIC has launched a major review of tourism in the West of Ireland here
• Visits to Ireland increased by over 15% for the months of April, May and June 2011 compared to the same period last year. Good news, but remember that the ash cloud in April 2010? Not too many people were travelling then, so I guess we'll have to wait for later in the year to get a better picture of where numbers are at

On a personal level, I went to Cornell University in the United States and undertook a course in interactive marketing. So thanks to Professor Lisa Klein Pearo and all the team for a great experience.
I'm looking forward to the next few months already, they promise to be even more interesting!

IRISH TOURISM RETURNS TO GROWTH IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2011

May has been a great month for Irish Tourism.

The government's 'Jobs Initiative' has given the sector a huge boost (see earlier post) and the visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama were a resounding success. On May 26th, the CSO published first quarter figures (Jan-Mar). They show that the total number of overseas trips to Ireland increased by 8.6% (92,800) compared with the same period last year. Visits from North America were up by 11.9%, visits from Great Britain were up 7.2% while visits from Other Europe were up 8.9%.

So, while it's positive that overseas visitor numbers are on the up, it is worth remembering that we still have 364,600 (23.6%) fewer overseas visitors than during the same period three years ago (1,177,600 vs 1,542,200). Therefore, it's no time to be complacent.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S VISIT TO IRELAND

The success of the Queen's visit to Ireland has rightly made headlines across the globe. She gave our tourism product an excellent endorsement in first line of her speech at Dublin Castle, with the following words:

'A Uachtaráin agus a chairdre, Prince Philip and I are delighted to be here, to experience at first hand Ireland's world-famous hospitality'.

There were many notable features of her visit, but the one that really struck me was the excellent health that both she and her husband obviously enjoy.

Apparently, 75% of the wealth in the UK is now in the hands of those over 65 years of age (Google Travel and Tourism Conference December 2010). Many of these people enjoy excellent health and offer enormous potential from a tourism perspective. If we really are serious about increasing our tourism numbers and revenue, I suggest that this group is actively targetted in a much more focussed way.

IRISH GOVERNMENT TOURISM POLICY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Fragmentation has long been a feature of tourism policy development, so it is refreshing to see ministers in the new government acting in a co-ordinated fashion. I have always taken the view that the proper development of the tourism sector is a 'whole of government' issue rather than just one for the tourism minister. Last week, three government ministers made important announcements on tourism as follows:

• Finance Minister, Michael Noonon, made tourism the central pillar of his Jobs Initiative. From July 1st, the VAT rate on restaurant and catering services, hotel and holiday accommodation, cinemas, theatres, museums, fairgrounds, amusement parks, sporting facilities, hairdressing, and printed matter such as brouchers, maps, programmes and newspapers will be reduced from 13.5% to 9% until end-December 2013. Furthmore, the lower rate of employers' PRSI will be halved on jobs that pay up to €356 per week. The €3 air travel tax will also be abolished on a date to be fixed by Order. Increased tourism resources will be made available to Tourism Ireland, working with the three State airports and carriers to promote visitor traffic.
• Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, introduced a 'visa waiver' programme from July 1st to October 2012. This means that holders of UK visas will have them recognised for short stay visits to Ireland. This is an immediate saving of €60 per visitor. The countries included are Belarus, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, China and Uzbekistan.

• Arts Minister, Jimmy Deenihan has set out his wish to acquire Bank of Ireland's historic branch on College Green for use as a major tourist attraction.

This is a very positive start, so I hope that other government departments are beginning to re-assess their contribution to tourism development. These include the departments of enterprise jobs & innovation, education & skills, environment community & local government, public expenditure and reform.

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)

IRISH TOURISM & HOSPITALTY AWARDS

Wow, what a great start to 2011! International guides and experts have given our sector a huge endorsement. In case you missed it -

• Frommer's readers voted Ireland their Favourite Destination for 2011
• Readers of The Oriental Morning Post and travel specialists across China voted Ireland the Most Popular Destination 2010
• France's best-selling travel guide, Le Guide Du Routard says Ireland's restaurants are as good if not better than anywhere in the world in terms of food, value and service
• Irish festivals scooped 3 of the 12 awards at The European Festival Awards in Groningen. Temple House won the Best New European Festival, Electric Picnic won the Best Medium-Sized European Festival and Oxygen won the Best European Festival Line-Up

Let's hope the positive PR will encourage more overseas visitors to holiday here this year!

TRADING & INVESTING IN A SMART ECONOMY - A Strategy and Action Plan for Irish Trade, Tourism and Investment to 2015

The absence of an integrated tourism policy has been a feature of national and county development plans for many years. It not helped by the fact that we have far too many state agencies.... five in aviation and eight in public transport alone!

So I was encouraged last week when the government launched the first integrated strategy to promote overseas trade, tourism and investment. The acknowledgement that these are no longer discrete policy areas is significant and the intention that 'joined-up thinking will lead to joined-up action' is to be welcomed. For example, we know that tourists from countries in new and developing markets such as China and India are discouraged from visiting here because of our complex visa regime, so I'm glad that a consultative group will be established to look at this issue.

However, the most disappointing aspect of this plan is the lack of ambition in the targets set for tourism by 2015 as follows:

• Increase overseas visitor numbers to 8 million
• Increase the number of jobs by 15,000

As far back as 2002, almost 6 million overseas visitors came here (5.919 million to be exact) and we reached the 8 million figure in 2007! So our target for 2015 is to be where we were in 2007!

In 2003, the tourism policy review group report New Horizons for Irish Tourism set a target of 10 million visitors by 2012. I know that economic circumstances have changed but why not push the 10 million figure to 2015 instead and get everyone working towards that?

The job creation potential of the sector is also significantly underestimated. As I stood and watched the majestic waves in Strandhill recently, I was struck by how much employment in the village was attributable to tourist related activities - surf schools, the golf club, the airport, cafes, restaurants and pubs. I am convinced that a lot more jobs could be created had we more ambition and a better vision.

CSO FIGURES JAN-MARCH 2010

Figures from the CSO out today show that total overseas visitor numbers to Ireland fell by 317,400 (21%) for the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period last year. Numbers from the UK were down 195,800 for the same period. While these figures are most disappointing, we should not be too despondent. There are grounds for optimism -

• We have a superb tourism product and a huge European market on our doorstep
• The overseas 'seniors market' has enormous potential and the package holiday coach touring product could be revisited
• Influential commentators such as Richard Curran, Olivia O'Leary and Don Thornhill have recently highlighted the job creation potential of the sector
• John McColgan has just launched the Gateway Ireland initiative
• The Grand Canal Theatre and the Aviva Stadium have opened while the Convention Centre Dublin and Terminal 2 are nearing completion
• Gabriel Byrne and Padraig Harrington have agreed to become our respective cultural and golf tourism ambassadors

I know that there are very real challenges out there at present, but we have a lot more going for us now than we had 20 years ago. We ought to focus on that.

OVERSEAS VISITORS NUMBERS JANUARY 2010

The CSO recently released figures which show a continuing fall in the number of overseas visitors to Ireland. Trips to Ireland by overseas visitors in January 2010 were down 26% on the same period last year, while visits from Great Britain were down 31%. Of course the weather in January was particularly bad, but the signs are ominous for 2010. These figures highlight the particular challenge Tourism Ireland face in achieving its objective of growing tourism numbers from the UK by 3% this year. With the UK's £11 Air Passenger Duty and the Irish €10 travel tax, governments in both jurisdictions are doing little to help!

OBAMA TAKING TOURISM SERIOUSLY

In a bid to attract more international visitors to the U.S., President Obama last week signed the Travel Promotion Act into law. The Act creates a new public-private partnership between the government and the travel & tourism industry. This is in response to evidence that that U.S. is loosing ground to other countries in the global travel market. The U.S. welcomed 2.4 million fewer overseas visitors in 2009 than in 2000. This law will mean that the entire nation will be promoted as one rather than any specific desination. It is estimated that the act could entice up to 1.6 million additional tourists to visit America each year. That translates into an estimated $4 billion in economic benefits and 40,000 jobs. The Act is funadamentally about creating jobs and encouraging economic activity. Is that not what is needed here?

A TOURISM LESSON FOR IRELAND FROM NEW ZEALAND

While we in the tourism industry might like to believe that the downturn in the global economy is to blame for our falling tourist numbers, this view was shattered by figures released by Tourism New Zealand recently (1/3/10). Visits to New Zealand during the peak summer month of January 2010 were up 5.2% compared to January 2009. Among the highlights -

• Australia up 15.7%
• Japan up 15.5%
• Germany up 10.6%
• Canada up 4.4%
• US up 0.6%
• UK down just 0.6%

For broad comparison, total overseas visitor numbers to Ireland last year were as follows -

• Australia down 18%
• Japan down 7.9%
• Germany down 10.5%
• Canada down 9.3%
• US down 2%
• UK down 16%

The sense that we, as an industry, are at the mercy of global factors outside our control, serves only to promote a feeling of helplessness. But this need not be the case, as certain hoteliers outlined at the IHF Conference this week (see below). Naturally, it helps that the New Zealand Prime Minister is also the 'Minister of Tourism'! Imagine what the impact for Ireland would be if Brian Cowen followed his lead and took responsibility for the tourism ministry in the upcoming cabinet re-shuffle!

OVERSEAS VISITOR NUMBERS TO IRELAND DROP BY ALMOST ONE MILLION

I was shocked but not surprised by the figures which the CSO released this week. Overseas visits to Ireland fell by 11.6% last year. I knew the figures wouldn't be good - operators had been telling us that all year. But it's only when percentages are converted into actual numbers (911,500) that the stark reality hits home.

We all know that hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans have been hit hard in the past year. But spare a thought for suppliers, retailers and others who are also affected by these figures.

It seems to me that there is a lack of understanding of the size, scope and importance of the tourism industry to the Irish economy. But we are not unique in this. The same challenge exists in the UK. But it is doing something about it. In three weeks time, the fourth annual British Tourism Week will seek to highlight the significant contribution of the sector to the UK economy.

We need to do something similiar.

CSO - HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL SURVEY

The CSO released figures today (3/2/10) which confirm that Irish people reduced their spend on travel related purchases during the third quarter of 2009. While the number of overall trips taken at home fell by just 1.3% compared to the same period in 2008, associated spending fell by 15.5%. This is the lowest third quarter expenditure since 2005. Holiday spending was down by over 20%. The number of trips taken abroad were down 9.7% in the same period while holiday trips abroad were down 17.7%. Spending on trips abroad fell by over 20% while spending on holidays abroad fell by 30%. Not surprisingly, there was in increase in the numbers using private motor vehicles (47%) and sea/cruise options (29.8%) at the expense of the airline carriers (-15.3%)

So, even though fewer people took holidays abroad during the peak tourist season last year, they did not substitute this with a holiday at home, as was suggested last year. Given the critical importance of the domestic market for Irish tourism, these figures provide no reassurance for 2010.

AIRLINE ANNOUNCMENTS - JANUARY 2010

There was some interesting news from airlines serving Ireland in the first month of 2010 - On the down side.........

• BMI said it will close its aircraft base at Dublin from March 28th. This will reduce the current daily flight schedule to London Heathrow from six per day to four
• Ryanair will also cut the number of aircraft based in Ireland from March 28th. It will base three fewer planes in Dublin (18 to 15). This will reduce its traffic at Dublin Airport from 8.7 million passengers to 6.5 million in the year to March 2011. At Shannon airport, it will base just one aircraft compared to four last year. As a result, passenger numbers are anticipated to fall from a peak of 1.9 million to just 400,000 in 2010. These significant reductions will have a very detrimental effect on tourism revenues this year

On the up side.........

• Continental Airlines announced that it will add four flights a week on its Shannon to Newark route from May 28th to September 8th
• Aer Lingus will increase the number of routes it offers between Ireland and the UK through a new franchise agreement with Aer Arann. Branded Aer Lingus Regional services and sold on Aer Lingus's website, the routes will be operated by Aer Arann. The move will generate greater traffic from Bristol. Blackpool, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, Durham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Jersey airports to Dublin and Cork

Separately, Aer Lingus rebranded itself as 'Ireland's Civilised Airline'. This is part of a plan to re-position itself somewhere between low-cost Ryanair and and full-service carriers such as British Airways. Many visitors will welcome the 'civilised' journey Aer Lingus is now promising. Now imagine if genuine hospitality was offered as well? Perhaps it might consider embracing Tourism Ireland's excellent 'Shine' campaign which was launched last year!