Tourism plan aims to boost jobs

A coalition of tourism interests has announced a ten-point plan for the sector which it says could result in the creation of more than 20,000 jobs by 2015.

The plan includes the relaunch of Ireland as a tourism destination and an intensive campaign to promote Ireland, involving high profile personalities from the arts, sports and business worlds.

It proposes harnessing the diaspora to promote Ireland abroad and recommends appointing 1,000 "Goodwill Fáilte Ambassadors" around the world with the aim of boosting visits to Ireland for holidays and attracting more business meetings and conferences.

The plan is led by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation and the Irish Hotels Federation but also involves bodies such as the Irish Farmers' Association, IBEC and Chambers Ireland.

The measures are published in the Tourism Opportunity - Driving Economic Renewal report, prepared by Tourism and Transport Consult International and Jim Power Economics.

Eamonn McKeon, chief executive of the confederation said the tourism sector had suffered serious setbacks in recent times but it was now time to start looking forward. "Tourism can recover to become a major engine of Irish economic growth if the ten objectives laid out in the report are pursued," he said.

President of the Irish Hotels' Federation Paul Gallagher said the plan was ambitious "but we must be bold and set targets that are well beyond the consensus growth rates forecast for tourism within Europe over the coming years".

The plan says there is "an urgent need" to recover the British market and increase penetration of the top producing markets - the USA, Germany and France - by setting more ambitious targets. It calls for a "root and branch reform" of the tourism agency structures, which includes bodies such as Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, and recommends the introduction of a business loan guarantee scheme.

Mr McKeon said an industry-led task force would be set up immediately to oversee the implementation of the plan.

He said work had already begun on this but it could only start in earnest when the next Minister for Tourism was appointed.

[ www.tourismopportunity.ie ]