Tourists don't like us like they used to

FRIENDLY IRISH?:Feeling vibrant? Surprising? Dramatic, perhaps? How about witty, spontaneous or lyrical? Inquiring? Articulate? All of these and more are characteristics highlighted in a new initiative by Tourism Ireland and Bord Fáilte as being vital to keep tourists coming back.

It seems we Irish are not the selling point we once were. Since 2002 our likeability factor has fallen from 45 to 39 – the percentage of tourists who think we Irish are the reason to holiday here.

“I think during the boom years we stopped being as friendly as a nation. With the downturn, even though we are all under more pressure, we are probably nicer again,” says Damien O’Riordan, manager of the G Hotel in Galway.

Eoghain O’Brien, manager of Viking Splash Tours in Dublin, doesn’t believe friendliness ever went away. “Irish people never lost the gift of the gab,” he says.

Patricia Roberts, owner of 1 Pery Square, a boutique hotel in Limerick, says “the friendly welcome was diluted somewhat during the boom, particularly in big hotel properties, where the whole process became like an airport check-in. As an industry we need to realise that friendliness is the cheapest form of marketing there is.”

The last word goes to Dublin airport taxi driver Padser Duffy. “People tell me exactly what they thought of their stay and what they all say is that they love the people, but that the price of hotels and drinks in places like Temple Bar are so high that they won’t be back.”

That’s something the tourist industry might want to shine a light on next.