Shannon Airport to stop funding tourism campaigns

The Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) has told Shannon Development that it will no longer contribute towards funding tourism marketing campaigns.

In a policy shift for the low-cost airport, director of Shannon Airport, Martin Moroney, said yesterday: "We are delivering the seats, the tourism bodies should deliver the passengers."

Mr Moroney revealed that the SAA board recently rejected a funding proposal, put forward by Shannon Development, for the two bodies to continue pooling their resources to market the west of Ireland. This year, the SAA contributed €100,000 towards a €1 million campaign to market the region in the UK. Shannon Development also contributed €100,000 to the fund, along with other agencies.

However, Mr Moroney said that the airport authority will no longer contribute towards any promotional campaigns.

"We shouldn't be expected to contribute financially to these campaigns. They are campaigns for tourism," he said.

"Now our model is getting in the airlines, building facilities and driving down charges. That is our financial contribution."

"If anything, they should be offering money to help us develop the airport and get more airlines in," he argued.

"We want to see the tourism agencies spending a lot more energy and money supporting the region, that is their job," Mr Moroney added. "We shouldn't be expected to contribute, it might have made sense before when we were weaker, but not now, when we are providing all the seats."

However, the airport authority will rely on financial support from Shannon Development in its early years as an independent company. A recent letter from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin revealed that Shannon Development has agreed with the SAA to provide funding of €30 million over a five-year period.

The shift in policy by the SAA follows Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary's recent criticism of the tourism industry in the West.

"If there is anything we would complain about at Shannon, it is a perceived lack of support for Shannon Airport from local tourism interests," he said.

"It is time for all tourism interests, who have done lots of complaining over the past 10 or 20 years, to get off their arses and to support Shannon Airport."