Mayo senator's concerns over serious loss of tourism revenue across region
The government's policy of stripping the western region of so much tourist accommodation is killing the tourism industry and setting the sector back by years.
That's the view of Mayo Fianna Fail Senator Lisa Chambers.
Speaking in An Seanad, she argued: "Once a destination switches off or dials down its tourism offering, Fáilte Ireland estimates that it can take ten years to get it back.
"The tourism demand will not simply return when things return to normal - they probably never will. We will never return to what we had two years ago.
"The Minister for Tourism has been informed that hotel bed shortages, as a result of accommodating refugees, have led to 10,000 tourism jobs being displaced in the past year, the majority of which are in the accommodation sector.
"That figure is staggering and is causing huge damage to tourist areas across Ireland.
"Some popular tourist towns have been impacted, such as Killarney, for example, where the impact on revenue to April of this year is estimated at €100 million, with 2,722 jobs being displaced.
"In Westport 898 jobs have been displaced, while Bundoran in County Donegal has seen 465 jobs go elsewhere.
"Westport is the jewel in the crown of Mayo tourism, with the town driving a lot of tourism for the county and surrounding region.
"We must keep tourists coming to County Mayo, and to do that we need hotel accommodation, to put it simply.
"We need reassurances from the government and the minister's department for the communities affected that the decades of hard work building up the tourism industry have not gone to waste. We must hear what the plan is.
"I think there is an acceptance that there is not much we can do this year about tourism season 2023. Where is the plan for 2024?"
Senator Chambers said an analysis of all Fáilte Ireland-registered accommodation and the percentage contracted by the State shows a clear picture of what parts of the country are most impacted.
In County Leitrim, 85% of all Fáilte Ireland-registered accommodation is contracted by the State; in County Longford, 70%; in County Offaly, 58%; in County Donegal, 53%; in County Mayo, 35%; in County Sligo, 44%; in County Roscommon, 40%; and in County Galway, 25%.
She stated: "This reduction in tourist accommodation basically translates to a reduction in tourists coming into an area.
"The hotels are handsomely paid but other related businesses that rely on hotels being full of tourists are suffering, like the local pub, the local coffee shop and the local restaurant.
"We are losing jobs from the sector at an alarming rate.
"There has been an effective silence from the government on this particular issue.
"What is the plan? What is the plan for next year and the year after?
"I am aware of the minister's comments that there will be a reduction in reliance on accommodation in the hospitality sector, but we need to hear more detail about that and when it will happen.
"It does not do much to allay the fears of many of those working in this sector and those in the regions and in rural areas.
"Fáilte Ireland has been reasonable in its asks for Covid-like supports for the businesses impacted, and I support it in this request.
"It is the least we can do, given that the damage to the sector has been inflicted by government policy.
"The VAT rate will need to be extended, and a targeted rates exemption also needs to be put in place.
"It should not apply to hotels being well paid from their contracts with the State.
"People are making a lot of money and now prospective accommodation providers are speculating on property with a view to accommodating the State as opposed to providing tourist accommodation, because the former pays so much more.
"The immediate issues for tourism are pressure on rates, fewer touring businesses, suppressed demand and lower footfall.
"The longer term, systemic implications are the undermining of the viability of a complex ecosystem of tourism, SMEs and ancillary service providers.
"Tourism is a complex ecosystem. The knock-on impact has already been alluded to. with many different businesses rely on each other for success and the destination's attractiveness. That point is key.
"If the attractiveness of a particular destination takes a hit, all the tours and businesses in that area are affected.
"This is a long-term problem which is difficult to reverse. It takes years to build up a good reputation and only minutes to destroy it."
Senator Chambers called for a clear commitment from government that there is an intention to stop contracting tourist accommodation for State purposes.
She said: "As long as this gravy train keeps chugging, people will speculate and invest in accommodation for State purposes.
"We want and need tourist accommodation back for tourists. If tourists do not come to our regions, we will not have the knock-on businesses which depend on it.
"I think of the town of Newport. The greenway goes through the town and because of tourists coming in a bike shop and two coffee shops opened and the hotel reopened.
"That is the impact of tourism on an area in the regions.
"If it remains as lucrative as it is now to provide accommodation to the State, then some of the hotel accommodation currently contracted will never come back into the system.
Something must happen now. To end on a positive note, we can see the problem coming down the tracks. Let us put a plan in place and do something about it now."