Tourist numbers

[hammer]

Visitor numbers drop by 900,000 - The Irish Times - Tue, Feb 23, 2010

We really need to get Bord Failte out there encouraging people to come to the Green Isle.

900,000 @ €1,000 per head takes nearly €1 billion out of economy multiplied by whatever approriate multiplier.

What is we had a airport tax for Irish people holidaying abroad for the next 5 years - say €50 per person if you are out of country for more than 5 days. Might encourage people to holiday at home. This together with a reduced minimum wage in hospitality sector could help maintain & create employment at home. Might also help the NAMA figures with income for hotel owners / developers

No airport tax for visitors. Let us encourage Europeans & Britains mainly into the economy.

[Grumpy Jack]

People won't come here while it is so expensive to stay, eat and drink in Ireland.

Bottom line is that we are too expensive for most US, EU and UK tourists. And even where prices have dropped, we are still seen as too expensive.

I was in Galway at the weekend and a room in a pretty basic three-star hotel cost €120 for the night.

Mind you, the hotel was booked out and Galway was buzzing. Most restaurants and bars were packed out for a wet night in February so things can't be too bad down there.

[consultant]

Here in Ireland we have a lot to offer the visitor. Unfortunately, we don't package it very well, don't make it financially attractive and rely too much on stags/hen parties, John Hinde postcards and our 'cead mile failte'.

Bord Failte and successive Ministers for Tourism have failed miserably to market Ireland. Equally, the industry itself needs to get its act together and define exactly what of our attributes will attract visitors then market them.

[st333ve]

How do they know how many people visit?
I go down all the time and Ive never met anyone with a clipboard ticking a box.

You cant expect the same amount of people during a recession.

Are Bord Failte looking more money because of this because no amount of advertising will make 1 bit of difference.

[Essential Piece]

Its economics. For my husband and I to travel to Ireland (not peak) it would be approx $6K for 2 weeks (includes pretty much everything including spending money but not the exchange rate) - same trip to sunny California $3K and no exchange rate.

[FlyOver]

I tried to do my best for the Irish economy this past year. Made two trips, once during the off season in February and once during in-season at the end of July. Spent most of my time in Co. Kilkenny but travel about both times. I got great airfare on both trips (< $500.00 RT both times) and did OK with a B&B in Galway (Salthill) during Race Week (350Euro 3 nights for 2 people) and 4euro Guinness The only thing I felt was not a good deal was the car hire. Fecking AVIS dinged me for 200Euro for a scratches on the bumper that came from gravel falling off a truck in from of me on the M50!! Second trip used local care hire and was not stiffed for any additional charges

[Grumpy Jack]

There are good bargains to be found in parts of Ireland. Last September, myself, the missus and the mutt got a pet-friendly cottage - difficult at the best of times - at a lovely guesthouse near Kinsale for a week for about €300. Spend the week going into Kinsale and touring around west Cork. Good craic, great food and fantastic value all in. Some places in Ireland know how to treat tourists while others still take the p1ss.

[John Mitchel]

I heard some guy from the Tourism Board on George Hook denying that the fact that the hotel industry is now dominated by foreign workers had anything to do with it. He said that the important thing was that the workers be trained. This is bunk. It is of course a minimum requirement that workers know their jobs, but to claim that the foreign tourist doesn't care whether the hotel receptionist is a local or someone from Minsk is rubbish, of course they do.
Would this Tourism guy (sorry I didn't catch his title) really suggest that someone from Moldova would be a good choice to drive a busload of American tourists around the King of Kerry, for example, just because he can drive? That's nonsense.

[Twin Towers]

There are good bargains to be found in parts of Ireland. Last September, myself, the missus and the mutt got a pet-friendly cottage - difficult at the best of times - at a lovely guesthouse near Kinsale for a week for about €300. Spend the week going into Kinsale and touring around west Cork. Good craic, great food and fantastic value all in. Some places in Ireland know how to treat tourists while others still take the p1ss.

That is the kind of holiday that Ireland does well though it takes a certain type of independent and self propelled tourist.

[Essential Piece]

The only thing I felt was not a good deal was the car hire. Fecking AVIS dinged me for 200Euro for a scratches on the bumper that came from gravel falling off a truck in from of me on the M50!! Second trip used local care hire and was not stiffed for any additional charges

I felt that the car rental compies over there were just awful. Not just Avis but Hertz, Auto Europe - name them. They added additonal surcharges when we went to pick-up the car and left us with no recourse but to pay them, gave us 2 door mini-micros when we paid for mid-sizes, broken radios etc.. to argue w/them would require taking a day out from our vacation to do so. Honestly if you know a local guy that comes recommended you are better off - the convenience isnt worth the customer service headaches. Not to mention having to argue w/them through your credit card company for the next 6 months.