There has been a dramatic fall in tourist numbers in several parts of the State this summer, new figures from Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, have revealed. Fiona Tyrrell reports.
The figures, seen by The Irish Times, show that while overall visitor numbers to Ireland are up, the growth is uneven and concentrated in the east. Meanwhile, the west, north-west and south-east in particular have suffered huge drops in business.
Tourism operators say the perception of Ireland as a high price destination is the main negative factor.
High prices were cited as a negative factor by 42 per cent of tourist operators dealing with the American market.
Some 39 per cent of British tourists complain of high prices and 31 per cent of domestic tourists have complained of high prices, according to the survey.
Some 50 per cent of operators in the west, north-west and south-east reported a downturn in bookings, the snapshot "Tourism Barometer" of 775 tourist providers covering the first five months of the year and conducted in June reveals .
"The overall evidence suggests that 2004 will be a challenging year for most tourism enterprises," according to the Fáilte Ireland survey.
The survey shows that 57 per cent of hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts in the north-west region reported a downturn on last year. Some 56 per cent of operators in the south-east reported that business is down, along with 50 per cent in the west and 42 per cent in the south-west.
In contrast, 42 per cent of accommodation providers in Dublin reported an increase in bookings, and 43 per cent in the midlands.
Some 40 per cent of Shannon operators reported an increase, 40 per cent a decrease, and 20 per cent reported no change.
Mr John Brown, spokesman for Fáilte Ireland, said the figures for the first five months of the year indicate that overseas visitors are up by 4.6 per cent and the domestic market is up by 6.7 per cent.
However, the growing trend among British visitors in particular to take short urban-based holidays has resulted in differences between the regional and urban tourist sectors.
Mr Paul McLoone, chief executive of the North West Regional Tourism Authority, said "great difficulties" were being experienced in the region.
This is partly due to an overall downturn in the numbers of overseas visitors coming to the region.
Prices, poor weather, competition from Northern Ireland, the smoking ban and the 9 p.m. ban on children in pubs are also to blame, he said.
The hotel sector has reported an increase in the overall volume of bookings compared to last year, however, all other types of accommodation have experienced a downturn. Most significantly 54 per cent of bed and breakfast operators, 48 per cent of hostels and 38 per cent of caravan and camping operators have reported a downturn.
Other factors impacting on the British market according to the industry are better holiday options abroad (mentioned by 14 per cent of operators) and the smoking ban (11 per cent).
Some 37 per cent of those surveyed said favourable exchange rate conditions was the main positive factor impacting on potential British tourists.
The threat of international terrorism was mentioned as a negative influence by 22 per cent of operators for US tourists, with exchange rates being cited by 16 per cent.
Competition from other destinations was cited by 28 per cent of those surveyed.
An increasingly competitive environment at home was reported by 15 per cent of operators, with particular reference to special offers from hotels.
Hidden charges and stealth taxes are the cause of growing costs in the tourist sector, particularly in the regions, according to Fine Gael tourism spokesman Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD.
"Every business is contending with massive refuse charges, commercial rates, and general business costs.
"Some businesses are actually running on an operating loss," he said.