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THE IRISH TOURISM businesses have borne the brunt of much of the recession, with hard-pressed consumers holding off on spending and holidays, even within the country.
Figures from the CSO show that SMEs in the South-East, a region which has traditionally been popular with Irish holidaymakers, are facing a particularly pressing challenge.
The scale of the problem can be seen in the diminishing Irish tourist spend in the region, which has dropped by €62 million since 2009.
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The number of trips to the South-East by Irish residents on domestic travel dropped by 179,000, and the cumulative number of nights spent in the region is down by 447,000.
The area is also home to some of the most economically depressed parts of the country, including the town of Bunclody, Co. Wexford.
Economic struggles
Barbara Ann-Murphy, Fianna Fáil Councillor for Bunclody said: “We have suffered hugely from emigration in this area and we are trying to rebuild. Many people in this area would have been dependent on construction, and that’s all gone.”
I was the chairperson of the GAA club in 2010. Then we were able to put out five men’s teams. Now we are lucky if we have two. The guys of playing age, so many of them are gone.
She said that a better job could be done of promoting the county:
Marketing is a huge thing. I don’t think Fáilte Ireland know that we’re here.
“We have so many attractions here. From the Blackstairs Mountains to Enniscorthy Castle. I would say we’re the best kept secret in the world.”
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But is there a way back?
There may be light at the end of the tunnel, however.
Waterford Chamber of Commerce chief executive Nick Donnelly said that there has been a pick up in tourist activity so far this year.
There is a sense that inbound activity is better
However, he warned that the job is not finished, and said all stakeholders have to stick together to lock in the recovery.
The most important thing is there is a coherent message that goes out about the South-East, both nationally and internationally
Keeping a lid on costs is vital, he argued.
“The hospitality sector still want to keep labour costs under control, the retention of the 9% VAT rate in the hospitality sector is seen as crucial. This is a big issue for the government with the budget in 2015.”
In May, the sixty-room Millrace Hotel was sold for €950,000 to an overseas investor.
The new manager of the hotel, Neil McGettigan, said: “I feel we have the USP of being an outdoor area. We have only been here a short time but we feel the town has great scope.”
People are excited about someone with experience coming on board with the hotel. If the hotel is busy it means that smaller businesses likes shops and hotels in the area will be busy.
His optimism is shared by Failte Ireland spokesperson Lousie Tolerton said: “Everybody accepts that the domestic tourism market operated in a challenging environment during the recession with fewer people taking trips.”
“However, the home holiday market has been on the up for almost two years at this stage. After a difficult few years from 2008-2012, we experienced a welcome return to growth for tourism domestically.”
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Man cannot live on tourism alone. Give us some industry jobs!!
Give? Whatever happened to create, innovate, attract?
Every credit is due to Michael Walsh & Waterford City Council on the establishment of the Viking Triangle & House of Waterford crystal in the city. That whole area of the city has been revamped on the back of this.
The work now is to reestablish shopping in the city centre.
In the SE you are fighting against the 100% marketing being poured into the Wild Atlantic Way, despite the fact that Waterford and Wexford are on the Atlantic.
At the up coming activity tourism event in Killarney, the SE is only allowed to make one presentation, and that is for Kilkenney, the rest of the SE and it’s outdoor activities are excluded.
Never herd of wexford being on the atlantic, but i agree in principle on wild atlantic way! perhaps south east and east should create a sophisticated cosmopolition centre of leisure ?
Biggest problem with this would be lack of ministerial help :)
Make it easier to discover these areas.
I found myself almost accidentally traveling around south east few weekend back and found very difficult to find all the sights and attractions. Silly leaflet with a map and highlights available from bars and restaurants would do magic. Even an iPhone app (I know there are few, but they’re not great and rather clunky to navigate).
Go on tripadvisor, and add all the highlights. Make sure to maintain it, read feedback and act on it. It’s not about throwing cash at the problem, it’s about actively working on resolving it.
As an elected local representative, Barbara and her colleagues should be taking the lead on this rather than spouting nonsense like ‘a better job could be done’. You are elected by the people to work locally, why don’t you get off your behind and take the lead on it?
Daniel, sign posting could be better. I follow a sign to a Dolmen, , drove to the next one and turned a corner, followed the next sigh and drove on. Only to find that at the end of the road, a sign pointing back the way I came. No actual sign to the spot I wanted to visit. Typical of many places in Ireland.
Hey – Barbara-Ann has only just been reelected in the recent locals so give her a break!
I know from working in tourism in the Hook Peninsula that, whilst great progress has been made, there is much to be done – a bit of joined up thinking on the marketing front, a more professional and effective level of management (plus accountability) would also help.
Too many sites fall for the “illusion of communication” and fail at marketing themselves properly. I agree with many of the comments on this thread re: signage etc – but we could be more creative in making it easy for people to find their way around using the internet instead.
We visited the South East on holiday last year from Limerick – it is a part of the country we normally would never have thought of venturing to.
Every place from New Ross to Enniscorthy, Wexford Town, Waterford City, Passage East, Duncannon etc etc. We absolutely loved the region and what it had to offer – especially to those who enjoy their history – and have vowed to return.
No minister. No IDA office. Excluded from the Wild Atlantic Way. No university. Hospital given over to UCC. Unemployment rate double that of Dublin. Even the bloody car registration data showed a huge pick up in Dublin and Cork- South East still flat-lining. Same with property prices and rental prices. How long can this government sustain the growing gap in economic performance. Across the South East there is an economic depression.
15-22k people marched in Waterford City last year to protest at the strategic underinvestment in the region. Imagine how Cork, Limerick or Galway would respond if they were treated like this.
Wexford is one of the worst counties when it comes to employment and if it didn’t have the port in rosslare it would be a lot worse
In fairness, I’d prefer to visit to South West any day. Too many people say “Well Boy or Well Girl” in Waterford. Drives me mad
Waterford is lovely in Summer, A lot of ‘well boi’s’ there though.
So they confuse your gender in Waterford?
I won the Eurovision 2 months ago
Graphs that don’t start at zero are misleading. Domestic spend in graph 1 has dropped form €240m to €180m which is a 25% drop. While this is bad, the graph makes it look far worse – 66% fall. This is because the X axis starts at 150 instead of zero.
Traditionally a lot of Dubs would have holidayed in the SE, but with our new motorway infrastructure, getting to West Cork-Kerry, Galway -Connemara has become a lot easier.
Agree on motorway ! The m50 -n11 is a disaster it stops at Clough with a roundabout ! Is this the limit Dubliin people are premitted to travel from the city ? Lol
So much for the Rosslare to Belfast Euro- route or where did the money for that go to ?
Motorway is being built at the minute at the beehive and jack whites near arklow. When that is finished the enniscorthy bypass will start which will link the m11 to wexford town by motorway
Big problem for places like Wexford is that so much of their pretty coastline is inaccessible and the “coast road” had no view whatsoever of the sea.
aahh. “I don’t Failte think Ireland knows we’re here”…..
idiosyncrasies are fun, pack a bag and explore
New Ross is a great town to visit .” Dunbrody ” ship and tour Ros tapestry ,great shoos and restaurants ……
Shops !
Waterford is my favourite county in Ireland. However, it has been the same story over my last 30 years in this country.
We had a prosperous SE until 1920s . Since independence its been let fall into neglect. The west is awake all right.
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