Double welcome for tourists bringing cars

It makes a lot of sense for Eamonn Rothwell of Irish Continental Group to light a fire under Tourism Ireland in relation to tourists from Britain, both from the company's perspective and from that of the rest of us.

For ICG, more tourists from the island next door would mean more customers and more revenue – it’s a simple enough idea and Rothwell is serving his employer well in highlighting it when he has the opportunity to do so.

The win-win aspect of boosting British tourists who arrive here by ferry (about a quarter of the total) is also easy to understand.

Visitors who bring their cars are known to stay longer than those who don’t, and are also more likely to extend their visit beyond one location.

Thus, wider economic benefits should be won if more people can be encouraged to drive from Britain to Ireland on holiday.

The number of British visitors to Ireland peaked at about seven million in 2007 but, despite growing slightly last year, has since struggled to get past three million. Good growth is again expected now, with ICG’s chief executive pointing to the strength of the British economy this year as a factor upon which Tourism Ireland should build.

The fact that British tourists are the most likely to travel by sea and bring their cars will not have been incidental in his comments.

Rothwell said on Thursday that he did not want to criticise Tourism Ireland, a body where he once worked when it had another name.

His former employers will hopefully have been thick-skinned when he remarked that they can become “wound up in exotic markets” when the real bounty is available closer to home.

Initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way (perfect for drivers) are ideal in promoting this kind of business and Rothwell recognised that. He wants more though, and it is hard to argue against his call on Tourism Ireland, which markets all of Ireland abroad, to “go for it, lads”.