The Confederation of the Irish Tourist Industry yesterday called for an investment of £753 million over the next six years in the tourist industry.
With the correct strategies, tourism could be the State's biggest industry by 2002, accounting for about 8.5 per cent of GNP, generating more than £3 billion in foreign revenue and employing 180,000 people, or 16 per cent of the workforce, an ITIC study claims.
But it says high levels of growth will become unsustainable after 1999 if the industry fails to address the regional and seasonal spread of business. Specifically, the study adds, Dublin has received more grant aid for visitor attractions than any other region since 1989.
Dublin's success needs to be repeated elsewhere. "Cork is seen as having the best potential in the short term, and the industry is urged to become more pro-active in developing Limerick and Galway as city-break destinations."
ITIC members, who represent most sectors of the tourist industry, have warmly welcomed the peace agreement in Northern Ireland.
They enthusiastically support the idea of an all-Ireland approach to overseas marketing. ITIC's chairman, Mr David Bunworth, said tourism was an industry which previously had been a hostage to violence.
The report acknowledges EU support has helped the industry develop but will be substantially scaled down from 1999. But ITIC said the Government and the EU should acknowledge in their future funding commitments the track record of tourism to create sustainable jobs. It also points to the benefits the Government derives directly: £1.1 billion in tax revenue in 1997 or 45p for every £1 a tourist spends.
For the first time, the ITIC study supplies a comprehensive view of Ireland's main competitors for overseas visitors. Main rivals are Scotland, rural Britain, parts of France and Scandinavia. The Scots have identified similar strengths as the outdoor/green image and cultural appeals. Wales is also a strong competitor with a marketing emphasis on nature and legend.
At the same time, ITIC says, Britain offers the best potential for Irish tourism because it is the market best served by air and sea routes. The peace process should increase the number of British people who will contemplate an Irish holiday.
The report says: "UK visits to Ireland are anticipated to continue to benefit from currency advantages in the short term as it is predicted that sterling will retain its current strength post-economic and monetary union while the punt will have been effectively devalued upon entry. . ."
The report touches on a controversial area when it points to two "conflicting imperatives" which face the Government when it considers transport policies on the north Atlantic. Aer Lingus has been told it must forge a strategic alliance with other airline groupings. But there is also a requirement that Dublin and Shannon airports be served with equal frequency.
ITIC says any potential alliance is incompatible with the second requirement. "The pattern of existing alliances suggests that route and traffic development will be focused on a hub-to-hub basis, i.e. in the case of Ireland, Dublin." A spokesman for SIGNAL, the lobby group which represents the interests of Shannon, said yesterday it would take particular interest in this part of the ITIC report.