New Shannon chief urges tourism drive

Tourism promotion agencies, including Shannon Development, were yesterday criticised by Shannon Airport's newly appointed chief, Mr Martin Moroney, for not doing enough to attract tourists into the west of Ireland this year.

Formally appointed to the post last Tuesday, Mr Moroney (48) said: "I see no real concerted effort made to promote the west of Ireland in the face of the downturn. I don't see any increased effort, only talk."

He added: "There is huge capacity on the transatlantic routes this summer going into Shannon. There should be a move for unified action by the various tourism promotion agencies in the west of Ireland to demand and obtain funding from Government for increased promotion."

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, as the then Head of Commercial and Business Development for Shannon, Mr Moroney made the grim prediction that Shannon would lose 30 per cent, or 800,000 passengers, from airport volumes this year.

However, after securing a number of new services, including new routes by Air Canada, Aer Arann and Ryanair in recent months, Mr Moroney yesterday revised his assessment, stating that Shannon would only be 8 per cent down on last year's figures of 2.2 million going through the airport.

He said that already this year Shannon is ahead of its target. However: "Unless, there is a concerted and improved tourism promotion effort, this year will not be as good as I think it can be." He also called for renewed development of tourism products along Ireland's west coast.

A native of Feakle and the first Clare man to be appointed to the post, Mr Moroney said he sees 2002 as "a year of consolidation" for Shannon, adding that he sees no reason why the airport should not be aiming for record passenger numbers next year.

In a bid to reduce its cost base and make the airport more efficient, Mr Moroney revealed Aer Rianta Shannon is currently seeking job cuts through a "voluntary severance scheme".

He expects the take-up to be "substantial", with an estimated 50 employees from Aer Rianta's workforce of 500 to take the package.

Asked if he envisages compulsory redundancies, Mr Moroney said, "not in the current situation".

With the company since 1980, Mr Moroney said the move to make the airport more efficient and to generate extra commercial revenues will release more funds to help induce airlines with incentives to use Shannon.

"The airport has to be far more profitable and far more sustainable in a business sense. It is only if the airport is working in that manner can we generate the level of growth that we desire," he said.

He said the downturn has "highlighted how important the airport is to the region. To me the vulnerability of Shannon Airport is all to do with issues such as road access, rail access and proper tourism development."

He expressed his frustration with continuing delays in relation to road projects in the region, including a decision to postpone work on the Ennis bypass until next year.

He said: "We have wonderful facilities at the airport, but getting people here is the problem. If these projects are not under way soon, it will be a major blow to Shannon."

Mr Moroney believes that Aer Lingus's survival is crucial to the development of Shannon. He said: "I think they were unfairly criticised for cutting services at Shannon, they just had to do it to save themselves. I think they will be a much stronger airline after its restructuring."

Despite gloomy predictions in the region that last autumn's cuts in services at Shannon will affect the region's business development, Mr Moroney said: "I don't believe there has been one job lost because of lack of services." Renewed calls by Shannon Development that airport policy should be devised by a board made up of various partners in the region were described by Mr Moroney as "self-serving and not constructive". He said: "If Shannon wasn't making money, then they could make the case, but Aer Rianta has done very, very well." He said Shannon Development should pursue its own regional development and tourism promotion mandates.