Some well known names in Irish tourism air their views on what they would do if put in charge of the industry here.
Michael O'Leary
Ryanair
Keep it simple, stupid!
At present, it costs from €300 to €500 for an air ticket to get here, when consumers can travel to other destinations for less than €30. We need to restore Ireland as a low-cost access tourist destination.
Break up the Aer Rianta monopoly by separating Cork and Shannon airports, allowing them to compete directly for inbound visitor business.
Develop second and third competing terminals at Dublin Airport with competing (lower cost) hotels, carparks and ancillary facilities.
Reduce the staffing levels of Bord Fáilte to one person (preferably someone who doesn't eat lunches), whose sole job would be to spend the Government's marketing funds in running newspaper ads focusing on low prices (no expensive radio and TV advertising) in overseas markets, such as the UK and Europe.
Stop wasting time and money advertising in markets such as the US, where the access is poor and the costs are prohibitive. Discontinue all spending on markets such as Australia, which politicians might like to visit, but which deliver no incremental visitors to this country. Get rid of all tourism industry quangos including the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Terminate all subsidies to the tourism industry. An industry that depends on subsidies will always be high cost and inefficient.
Irish tourism has a product and facilities to be proud of, but we have failed abysmally in recent years to continue to increase the number of inbound visitors. The last Minister has doomed Ireland to third-world airport facilities and a hopelessly uncompetitive access cost regime.
Michael O'Leary is chief executive of Ryanair
Jim Murphy
Irish Hotels Federation
A key strategy to promoting Ireland abroad is to invest money in marketing and advertising in areas where there are new or existing air routes with high earning potential. Take the Baltimore/Washington-Dublin route to begin next March; this is an opportunity for the tourism industry to promote Ireland in this area through marketing and advertising.
We need to be in tune with booking trends. Marketing should no longer be focused on the first quarter of the year, when people traditionally booked holidays - that climate has changed in the past few years and people are booking later. It is vital that advertising is spread throughout the year.
Using technology is increasingly important. As the trend towards Internet bookings increases, Ireland needs to market itself more innovatively on the Web. E-mail marketing is an inexpensive and effective tool and it is important to develop a database of international visitors to Ireland.
The impression of Ireland abroad has always centred on our people, so let's look to the well-known faces of Ireland and let them become instrumental in marketing Ireland abroad. The advertising campaign promoting Ireland in North America with Martin Sheen is hugely successful, but let's not stop there. We should use our top sports people, pop bands and celebrities to highlight what we have to offer.
Jim Murphy is president of the Irish Hotels Federation
Kevin Thornton
Restaurateur
In the promotion of Ireland abroad, it's important to use the expertise of those working on the ground whose businesses depend on the tourism industry. We have many talented young people involved in film, music, art, literature and fashion design whose talents need to be further exposed. For the adventurous traveller, Ireland's recreational activities are second to none and these would include fishing, golfing, equine activities, watersports etc., all to be enjoyed in a beautiful and green environment.
As a restaurateur I commend An Bord Bia - the Irish Food Board - for its promotion of Irish food abroad. I recently worked with it at a food forum in Turin organised by Slow Food (an international organisation involved in the promotion of organic produce) and I was proud to use some of the wonderful raw materials this island has to offer and present them to an international audience.
Most importantly, in recent years, we as a country have gained confidence and pride in our identity and our attitude has changed. We are no longer complacent and happy just to be included. We have the right to be up there and this positive sense of ourselves needs to be encouraged and developed. I have consistently worked to the best of my ability. I believe in myself and my product and as a result Thornton's has gained worldwide recognition and an international clientele. Today's tourist expects high standards and for Ireland to compete, we need to foster entrepreneurship and talent in the Irish hospitality and tourism industries.
Thornton's restaurant has won two Michelin Stars
Noel Toolan
Marketing Consultant
Ireland's tourism marketing effort is already quite a sophisticated, complex effort, with marketing professionals working closely with the tourism trade.
The key to any destination marketing effort is to ensure overall long-term revenue growth for all the main stakeholders: e.g. airlines, hotels, tour operators and the wider community.
Essentially, this requires two simple strategic marketing steps:
1. Appropriate positioning: A clear definition of what sector Ireland is in, and then, what makes us different from, or better than, the alternatives. Clearly, we are not a low-cost, sun destination, nor are we a premium winter destination.
The precise positioning can be multifaceted - for example, Dublin as a young people's party capital as well as Ireland as the ultimate golf destination. If the economics dictate it, and assuming the product delivers, then Ireland can easily be a premium destination . . . to the right target of course.
2. Precise targeting: Specifically, we need the right mix of tourists spending lots of money on appropriate products, all around the country . . . but never bumping into each other and always experiencing over-delivery of promise.
Overall the key point is, destination marketing is a science - leave it up to the pros and if the pros under-perform . . . get better pros!
Noel Toolan is founder and managing director of BrandAid and a
former head of international marketing at Bord Fáilte
Ian Lumley
An Táisce
The images of coastal and rural landscapes being used to market Ireland are increasingly divorced from reality. The real Ireland is increasingly a suburbanised landscape, with particular pressure for holiday homes and second homes along the coast.
Some of the most significant heritage sites in the country are being threatened by golf resort development with the - usual - accompanying houses and hotels. This development is attracted to unspoilt coastal landscapes, such as the Old Head of Kinsale, Co Cork; and Doonbeg, Co Clare; or the parklands of historic country houses such as Carton, Co Kildare; Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, or Lough Rynn, Co Leitrim.
Promoting and accommodating tourism development, which is in the long term damaging to the quality of the environment to which visitors are being attracted, is counter productive. Tourist development needs to be located in existing serviced centres, without swamping the character of these places in the process.
While there are national planning guidelines for retail development, different guidelines are now needed for tourism to ensure all new investment is compatible with environmental sustainability and that the images which Ireland is using for self-promotion remain genuine.Ian Lumley is An Táisce's heritage officer