OPINION: Help us get our suffering tourist trade off its knees

FOLLOWING ten years of unprecedented growth, nobody is under any illusions that 2001 was anything but an annus horribilus for tourism here in Ireland.

When the attacks of September 11 came on top of economic difficulties in the US and elsewhere, the industry suffered all across the world.

In Ireland however, we had just been starting to recover from the major restrictions imposed in rural areas following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.

Figures released this week by the Central Statistics Office show that there was a 5.1 per cent drop in the overall number of visitors to Ireland in 2001, a loss of just over 400,000 visitors.

It has taken a special effort from all involved in tourism here in Ireland to soldier through the storm and plan for the best possible recovery this year.

With our partners in Tourism Ireland - a new North-South body which looks after the international marketing of the island of Ireland as a destination -we set ambitious targets for the season aimed at restoring figures close to what was achieved in 2000.

Hard work is being done on behalf of Ireland right around the world and I am glad to say that the indications from many markets, including the UK and parts of mainland Europe are that this recovery is beginning.

However, there is much to be done here at home too. Tourism is the third largest sector of our economy and it employs around one in seven of the workforce

Think about it -how many of your family, friends or neighbours work in hotels, restaurants, pubs, visitor attractions, transport and so on?

Many of these are jobs that have been built up through Ireland's success as a tourism destination over the past 12 years and these are jobs that must be protected.

The easiest and best way to help achieve this is by choosing Ireland when you plan a break - be it a long weekend, a relaxing midweek trip or your annual holiday.

Traditionally, Irish people have been wonderful tourists within their own country. Last year was no exception when a strong performance from the home market helped make up for some of the difficulties elsewhere. In fact, a total of 3.6 million domestic holiday trips were taken last year - a rise of 12 per cent on 2000.

This generated vital revenues in regions that might have been more severely hit by the loss of international visitors.

Our EURmillion advertising and marketing campaign encouraging Irish people to "Make A Break For It" at home is currently in full flight.

In my own travelling around the country it frequently strikes me that we really do have it all here - beautiful scenery, great people, a very high standard of accommodation, food and service, and of course a level of craic that cannot be matched anywhere else in the world.

And it's not just in the well-known tourist spots that you can find this. The growth in standards and facilities all over the country in the last few years means you are assured of a wonderful time no matter where or when you go.

PRICE is something that everyone in Ireland has become more and more conscious of in relation to holidaying, particularly with low- price offers available on some sun package holidays.

While people do not come to Ireland seeking that type of holiday we need to remember we are in direct competition with these destinations, particularly for visitors from European markets like Italy and Germany where they are very aware of pricing.

Since the introduction of the euro, there is a far greater level of transparency in price comparison between destinations and it is important that business people and service providers throughout the country are conscious of this when it comes to setting their prices this year.

For Bord Failte's part we are continuing our hard work in promoting Ireland. Since 2000 our Sports Tourism Initiative has been actively promoting Ireland as a destination for world-class sporting events.

The results of this are very much in evidence this year, with the World Cross Country athletics championships at Leopardstown and the British Touring Car championships at Mondello Park.

There are also major golf events such as the Seve Ballesteros trophy at Druids Glen in April, the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Golf Club in June and the American Express World Championships to be held at Mount Juliet in September, when we will see Tiger Woods returning to these shores. Of course the Ryder Cup 2006 is a major coup for the country, and we are actively promoting Ireland's involvement right around the golfing circuit.

A very exciting development this year is our Festivals Initiative through which we have EURmillion available over five years to promote new and existing festivals right around the country.

Applications have closed for the 2002 allocations and announcements will be made shortly. One major new festival has already got the green light here.

Summerfest will be held in Killarney from June 28 to July 7 with great musical attractions such as Tom Jones and Westlife. We are also very excited about a proposal for Donegal.

It has been particularly encouraging to see the range of themes being proposed for new festivals -everything from food, to culture, music, art and from areas not traditionally associated with festival organisation.

This is an area we look forward to developing over the next five years in conjunction with our partners in the Regional Tourism bodies.

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