TOURISM:THE DISRUPTION to air travel caused by Iceland's volcanic ash cloud is "very damaging" for our tourism industry, Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin said yesterday.
She said more than 16,000 visitors were coming to Ireland every day at this time of year. “So obviously [the disruption is] not something you’d like to see continuing and obviously the money that’s lost every day would be very significant,” she said.
Ms Hanafin said the most worrying aspect of it was the uncertainty it brought for people considering booking a holiday here. Closing airspace for half a day, as happened yesterday, did not create long-term difficulty, “but if it keeps coming back, then there’s no doubt it would”, she said.
She said tourism providers had to do all they could to promote their areas and to let people know Ireland was open for business and accessible by boat.
“There’s a major job for us to be done with marketing to ensure that people realise that there are ways of getting to Ireland, that you can spend a good holiday here.
“And on the upside, we’re finding that people are more inclined to spend a weekend at home. They’re more inclined to organise events in Ireland rather than going abroad.”
Ms Hanafin said new markets in continental Europe and Scandinavia were being targeted by Tourism Ireland to boost tourist numbers. Tomorrow, she is due to unveil plans for a mid-year €20 million promotional programme by Tourism Ireland.
