Proposals for a national conference centre are to be presented to Cabinet by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, within four weeks. The centre is expected to be financed under a public-private partnership and located in Dublin.
Ireland has been losing out on international business due to the lack of such a facility, the Minister told the annual Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) conference in Galway yesterday, and he was "convinced" that its construction in Dublin would address this.
Such a centre "could not and would not just involve Exchequer funding", the Minister said. "It will form the bedrock for a substantial increase in this kind of business," Mr O'Donoghue added, to applause from members of the IHF.
Preliminary estimates for 2002 indicate "disappointing growth" in tourism figures, according to the IHF chief executive, Mr John Power.
Continued global economic unrest was largely to blame for visitor numbers remaining low, when compared with figures from just over two years ago, he told the conference.
The IHF estimates show that overseas visitor figures increased by 2 per cent on 2001, while corresponding hotel room nights fell by 3 per cent for the same period. However, the figures indicate that home holidays increased by 12 to 15 per cent last year.
Earlier, the Minister acknowledged that the 1 per cent increase in the last Budget in VAT for hotels and restaurants until 2004 had caused "difficulties" for the hotel industry but emphasised that there had been a 4 per cent reduction in corporation tax and no increase in excise duties.
He would continue to try and ensure that the industry got a "fair deal" in relation to VAT, Mr O'Donoghue said.
A deferral of the VAT increase, a freeze on local authority rates for hotels at 2002 levels and removal of the 2 per cent Government levy on insurance premiums have been sought by the IHF as a response to problems facing the industry.
"As the world holds its breath in anticipation of the developments in Iraq, the Irish tourist industry is facing one of its most difficult periods ever," IHF president Mr Jim Murphy told the Minister and more than 400 conference delegates.
However, the Minister said remedial action would be "premature a this point", while outlining a three-point contingency plan based on "gathering market-based intelligence", evaluating it and altering tourism marketing campaigns as necessary, and establishing an "industry response group".
He said he had secured a tourism marketing fund of €48 million in the 2003 Estimates, part of which could be "earmarked to cater for measures to deal with a possible Gulf conflict".