The Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels Federation yesterday called for "urgent Government action to unlock the alarming imbalance in tourist flow". This follows a recent report by Shannon Development, which estimates that up to 90 per cent of European and UK traffic arrives via the east coast and that transatlantic traffic into Dublin exceeds that of Shannon.
The IHF branch calls for "another low-cost carrier offering comparable rates to Ryanair to improve the greatly diminished access to the region". It also wants "acknowledgment of this crisis and action taken to immediately".
"The Shannon region is continually thwarted by systems that are currently in place whereby a North American traveller inquiring about access to Ireland is immediately directed to Dublin. This is a fundamental flaw and could be perceived as anti-competitive practice," according to the statement.
Shannon needs investment to create alternative tourism interests, and Government recognition that it has a responsibility to protect the area's tourism interests, it adds.