Minister’s price warning by Jon Myles
RELAND’S tourism industry has been warned it must keep prices competitive to keep its place as a premier destination.
The warning came at the launch of a new guide and website to accommodation across the country.
The guide was launched less than two weeks after new figures revealed the number of visitors to Ireland was continuing to grow despite a worldwide downturn in the tourist industry.
But Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue warned the industry must compete with other destinations on price as well as quality if the numbers were to be sustained.
He said: “Keener pricing is the only way the tourist industry can succeed in an increasingly global market.”
He said high prices gave a negative perception of Ireland to visitors holidaying there.by Jon Myles
Mr O’Donoghue was speaking at the launch of the hotel industry’s 2004 guide to accommodation around the country and its accompanying website.
The publication of the 2004 Be Our Guest Hotels and Guesthouses Guide by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) kicked off a major international marketing campaign
by the organisation targeted at domestic and overseas
visitors.
Some 400,000 copies of the guide are being distributed worldwide to show the breadth of accommodation available throughout Ireland.
The brochure and the updated 2004 version of the Irelandhotels.com website contain more than 1,000 listings of properties, ranging from family-run guesthouses to large five-star hotels.
IHF President Jim Murphy said he was relieved to see growth in many segments of the tourism sector, including the American and domestic markets, although he said bookings had remained relatively flat throughout the year.
But he said attractive packages had helped the domestic market and a reasonable recovery was being seen in the American market, helped by increased availability of direct access flights from the US to Ireland.
He said: “We have been very successful in promoting Irish tourism but we have to compete globally against other destinations.”
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