The forthcoming ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants is being used as a marketing device to attract more visitors to Dublin.
"Dublin - A Breath of Fresh Air" is the slogan to be adopted by the tourism industry to try to increase visitor numbers. "We're selling the ban as a positive, and we believe there is a market for the smoke-free environment for entertainment that we can now provide," said Mr Frank Magee, chief executive of Dublin Tourism. Last year a Government report said the smoking ban in pubs and other businesses would have no effect on Irish tourism. The Minister for Health has since announced that hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts would be exempt from the ban.
Speaking in advance of a briefing for the tourism trade today, Mr Magee predicted that Dublin would offer "great value" to visitors this year, as well as new attractions and facilities. With the number of hotel rooms due to rise by 15 per cent, he forecast increased competition and a resulting drop in prices.
He said said visitor numbers to the capital are expected to rise by 5 per cent this year, about the same as last year's increase.
Later this year, a new "Dublin pass" will be launched to provide visitors with a single ticket for admission to about 50 museums, galleries and other attractions around the city, as well as transport to and from the city. It will be available for purchase on the Internet.
According to Mr Magee, a number of infrastructural improvements under way will make Dublin more attractive to tourists. These include completion of the Luas lines, and rejuvenation of O'Connell Street and parts of the Dockland area.
"Ireland's hosting of the European presidency offers a magnificent opportunity to showcase Dublin to the world," he added. "Along with the Bloomsday centenary, the centenary of the Abbey Theatre, 150 years of the National Gallery, to name but a few, Dublin will be in party mode during 2004."
He also said that more than 20 new air routes or services are scheduled to start this year. These include connections between Dublin and Berlin, Cologne, Warsaw, Venice, Cape Town, Dubrovnik, Bilbao and Lyon. "This increase in air services will assist us greatly in our efforts to secure greater visitor numbers and expenditure from new markets."
