Tourism flying high at Dublin Airport

The tourism industry fought to its last bullet to retain its special 9 per cent Vat rate in the budget – and succeeded as the Government wagered that it was a sector which was on the up and which would be capable of significant job creation in the immediate future.

The industry is indeed resurgent. A quick round-up of the barrage of new route announcements from Dublin Airport in recent weeks is proof, if it were needed. The airport is in the clover.

Next year, Dublin Airport will be serviced by 12 new routes, serving destinations such as Los Angeles, Barcelona, Helsinki, Addis Ababa and Washington DC.

Aer Lingus is also set to boost the frequency of its flights on the Dublin to New York JFK route, one of its biggest money spinners, to three per day for the peak months of June, July and August. There will also be 40 per cent more capacity on its San Francisco route and one-third more seats on Aer Lingus flights to Orlando.Three new transatlantic routes were also opened up from Dublin this year, including two to Canada.

Annual passenger numbers at the airport were up 7 per cent by the beginning of this month, with new flights to and from the Middle East and north Africa among the contributing factors.

Dublin Airport, which during the boom faced criticism that its second terminal could become a white elephant, is also filling up fast with transit passengers. Transfers were up 38 per cent to the end of October.

Last year, it had fewer than 550,000 transit passengers for the entire 12 months. This year, with the Christmas period still to come, it is already 100,000 ahead of that number.

With the country’s main airport hopping once more and, more importantly, with the capacity to cope, 2015 is shaping up to be a bumper year for the Irish tourism industry. Let’s see how long it can hold on to that 9 per cent rate.