The tourism training agency, CERT, has issued a damning report on the failure of the hospitality sector to join the trend towards green tourism and protection of the environment.
Visitors to this country rate environmental issues third in importance - after friendly people and beautiful scenery - in terms of holiday enjoyment. And yet Irish hotel and guest house operators are playing "catch up" on the issue. They lack awareness of how their waste contractors disposed of refuse, they are not active in recycling and they engage in expensive, wasteful energy use.
Coming on top of criticisms levelled at the industry by Mr Jim Deegan, director of National Director of Tourism Policy Studies at the University of Limerick, the hospitality sector should pay close attention to these warning signals. Cheaper access by air and sea, along with the provision by Jury's Inn hotels of clean rooms at affordable prices, were identified by Mr Deegan as the two most important innovations within the industry in the past 20 years.
A recent survey found that half of all visitors were dissatisfied with charges for eating out, the cost of goods and services and the prices they had to pay in pubs. Four out of five German, Dutch, and Italian tourists had complaints. The introduction of a single currency has made cost comparisons immediately transparent to EU visitors. And value for money was ranked fifth in importance when it came to deciding on holiday satisfaction.
The industry already knows that costs are too high. And there have been tentative efforts to provide better value. But a reported 500 per cent mark-up on wine in one restaurant indicates the distance some elements of the industry have to travel.
In the present economic downturn, the hospitality sector should learn from the airline industry. Those companies that opted to provide cheap flights and value for money have continued to make profits, while many of the more traditional carriers are facing receivership. Good value and innovation must be the order of the day if the Irish tourist industry is to grow and thrive.
Also, the needs of green tourism have to be recognised in terms of a litter-free countryside and a clean environment. Visitor satisfaction levels with our 'natural, unspoiled environment' have been falling. It is a development we cannot afford to ignore because scenery is our primary selling point. The hospitality sector has work to do to address these issues. But the job is not theirs alone; local communities and local authorities must also pull their weight.