Departure tax to go if Fine Gael gets in

GENERAL ELECTION:FINE GAEL is to target costs in the tourism industry in a bid to boost visitor numbers from abroad.

The party is looking to abolish the departure tax and has proposed a series of measures to lower labour costs and taxes on the sector.

All the parties have issued comprehensive plans for the tourism industry and all recognise that there has been a considerable fall-off in visitor numbers in recent years – declining from a high of 7.7 million in 2007 to 5.6 million last year.

Fine Gael’s emphasis is on making Ireland more competitive for overseas visitors. It points out that of our nine neighbours in northern Europe, Ireland ranks seventh in terms of competitiveness.

It wants a review of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) – it establishes rates of pay for the hotel industry – which many hotels say makes them uncompetitive on Sundays and bank holidays, a cut in the upper rate of employers’ PRSI by 20 per cent and the lower rate of employers’ PRSI by 50 per cent.

A reduction in Vat from 13 per cent to 10 per cent is also proposed.

It is also seeking a reduction in local authority rates for the hotel sector, a real bugbear of the tourism industry, and a review of so-called “zombie hotels”.

Its most eye-catching proposal is for a flagship literature centre for Dublin which will highlight the city’s literary legacy.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said at the TG4 leaders’ debate that, if elected taoiseach, he will use the annual St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House to make a personal appeal to Americans to visit Ireland.

He also said that within 100 days of taking office he will call in the major airlines and offer to scrap the travel tax straight away if they can deliver an extra million tourists to Ireland.

All the parties have issued comprehensive plans for the tourism industry and all recognise that there has been a considerable fall in numbers in recent years.

Labour is putting emphasis on boosting visitor numbers. Its flagship tourism policy is to offer a travel scheme providing free travel for everyone over 66 at off-peak times on all CIÉ services.

It wants more emphasis put on the emerging markets of China, Russia, India, Japan and the Middle East through the Tourism Marketing Fund.

Labour’s manifesto also addresses an eternal source of frustration for overseas visitors – the absence of effective signage. The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport will be mandated to conduct an assessment of the quality and effectiveness of existing signage.

Fianna Fáil is the only mainstream party to issue specific targets. It wants the number of visitors to increase to eight million by 2015, creating a further 15,000 jobs in the process.

This, the party believes, can be achieved by focusing on the market most likely to deliver – the UK.

In the leaders’ debate on TG4 this week, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin emphasised “The Gathering 2012” – a homecoming-type event aimed at those with Irish ancestry – as a potential boost for tourism numbers. A similar event in Scotland in 2009 attracted an extra 100,000 visitors to the country.

Sinn Féin’s manifesto talks about boosting employment in the tourism sector by developing tourism attractions and a drive to make Ireland the top destination for those who want a clean, green tourist destination in Europe.

However, the party gives no further details on how to achieve this.

The Green Party has put forward its key idea of marketing Ireland as a world-class eco-tourism destination.