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TOURISM IN RURAL Ireland is set to thrive this summer, but cities will suffer, Fáilte Ireland has said.
As Ireland gears up for another summer of staycations, rural destinations are offering the outdoor attractions people are seeking in light of the pandemic.
But cities are set to “struggle” and will continue to do so, a briefing of the tourism board heard today.
Fáilte Ireland’s director of marketing Niall Tracey said: “It’s going to be a bit of a year of two halves. We’re going to have a summer where large parts of the country actually do very well.
“Because we know from our research that people really want to get out to the coast, they want to walk on beaches, they want to go up greenways, and they want to spend time outdoors predominantly.
“So a lot of the country is going to open up really well.
“But it’s not going to be great everywhere. At the other end of the spectrum are cities, because cities do really well with international tourism.
“People use cities for things like big matches, concerts, big events, none of which will be happening in the short term.
“So while rural Ireland has actually got an awful lot of exactly what people are looking for, unfortunately the cities are struggling and are going to struggle.”
Part of the problem is that people are waiting to see how the lifting of Covid restrictions goes before deciding to book.
Outdoor dining is set to resume on 7 June, but indoor dining will only be allowed in hotels for guests.
It is less clear when indoor dining will make a wider return, although Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said this week that he hopes it will be “early July”.
Fáilte Ireland is hoping that increased clarity will bring increased demand.
Tracey said: “As regards indoor dining, I think particularly for cities, that definitely makes people a little bit more reluctant, to wait and see before they book.
“The city experience isn’t just the attractions or the shopping. It’s also being able to go for a meal, head out for a couple of beers afterwards, the vibe of the city centre.
“You can compensate for that, as I’ve mentioned in parts of rural Ireland, when a hotel is potentially your accommodation base.
“We’re hoping, we’re expecting not only that reopening on the second of June will give a big boost, because people will then know other people going on holiday, and that creates its own momentum.
“But also if Government are able to give a bit more clarity as regards some of the other elements of tourism and hospitality, when they will open, I think that clarity will definitely help.”
Speaking to the media this afternoon, Tourism Minister Catherine Martin said: “I hope next week the government will be producing a road map for international tourism. That is really critical for tourism to recover, it accounts for 75% of the tourism revenue.
“I’m acutely aware of that as Minister for Tourism and also for the supports that are needed so there is no cliff edge for this industry.”
With reporting by Hayley Halpin
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We need to see good quality leadership for a change. Gender not important
So what she means is that we need to see more women like Lorraine Higgins….who has lost all four elections that she ran for and is now a Senator because Kenny put her there. So demonstrating that the will fo teh people matters not.
So we need more women who don’t understand the meaning of utopia.
Need more women to lie about what there being told on the door steps.
What we need are more women who listen to the people and have a brain and have an interest in Thiosd country and that will put us first.
Its not a gender issue its a capability issue!!!!!
10-12-2014
http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=9743 evidence if anyone needed it
Sorry emmet that was sooo sexist * uses my victim card*
#dec10
What has Frances F ever done for anyone that wasn’t begging a cheap vote in return? She’s only in there by luck and chance after FF imploded….
- She is a role model to no soul.
Tell joan the phone that, if she had any balls at all she would have folded this Government.
Murph you right what a load of crap. If Enda Kenny is their chosen one they don,t know any thing about leadership. This plonker has lost the people.
I would love to see more women in Politics .. Women that work for the people ….. Women that are not involved with Political Parties that hurt those that are finding it hard to survive ..women that listen to the people… Would you not agree Ms Fitzgerald. . ???
“Who would have thought women would be in the sex trade in 2016″
Frances planning to eliminate the oldest profession in the world ??? (holds hands in head)
Notable albeit naive aspiration
Herself and O Riordan are spending too much time alone and believing their own bull$hit.
We need to rear a nation of Joan Burton..a successful female role model. Put a bit of manners on Samsung and Apple too with those sinister smartphones.
Or wonderful examples such as Gemma Hussey, Alice Glenn, Mary Robinson, Mary Harney, Lucinda Creighton, the last Rehab CEO….the list of self-serving Luddite feminist-type ‘leaders’ is awe-inspiring and endless to be sure!!
Yes, the current and previous lot would not be examples to learn from. burton is a disgrace to humanity.
It would be great to see more women in politics. As long as they’re not in fg ff and labour. Then it’s fine
Correct Minister and lets hope the leaders they see are more like Maureen O’Sullivan TD & Cllr Brid Smith than like you.
The gender equality issue has to do with the enormous power that the catholic church had and to a large extent still has in this country and its legacy. It still has an iron grip on our educational system and our health system.
The sheer hypocrisy of the Government, in fact all governments have shown when dealing with this issue is baffling. Plenty of sound bytes but no real action, it would upset a bunch of old male virgins wearing pointed hats.
Bullsh Joseph. Pretty much every society across the world discrminates against women and it did not take the Catholic church to achieve that. Nor religion more generally. It is part of the human power game in which male physical strength is translated into social power.
Religion (no matter what flavor) discriminates against women. The Main and most powerful religion is in Ireland was/is Catholicism.
Does she know of any good male or female leaders , what happened the file of over 200 complaints against guarda, b4 she even opened it she said most would be malicious claims bla bla bla and yet she still has done nothing
Frances YOU have to prove yourself a LOT more….but guess its too late for that now
Frances Firzgerald. Taoiseach 2016-2021
Perish the thought
Quality is more important then gender p Healy eames lucinda creighton must set back women’s equality by years.women who believe they belong in the 1920s
Women have more to prove? What a gender-neurotic comment.
She obviously has never felt the weight of expectation that has encumbered men since time immemorial: an onus of expectation that tells us we need to be successful, respected and employed in a ‘manly’ job at all costs, lest we be seen as less of a ‘man’ – both by society and by ourselves – and thereby worthless to the world.
More and more men and becoming suicide statistics simply because we can no longer deal with this weight of expectation. Yet here we have this ‘gender-neuroticism’ that operates on the assumption that women always have it worse!
In any case I don’t believe it possible to quantify the level of struggle for the purpose of comparison between the two genders. Men and women suffer in different ways. Sadly, men tend to suffer in silence, and it is that silence that leads to the presumption that we do not suffer at all, or at least that our suffering is of a much weaker magnitude than that of women.
And guess what she just appointed a woman garda commissioner who worked wit Callinan.
What a sexist waste of space this Frances Fitzgerald is !
She has done nothing of any value …. ever !
It is interesting how people respond to role models and why gender identity is an important factor in one. This is something I’ve always been curious about.
How am I supposed to succeed in life with so few left-handed role models? :’(
So few left handed role models? Are you serious, bleeding everyone’s a lefty these days.
What about Kermit the Frog? He’s deadly.
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