Any policy to spread the economic benefits of tourism more evenly across the country should not be at the expense of existing centres, the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) said yesterday.
This puts ITIC, the umbrella group for the industry, at odds with Government policy, which strongly favours tourism development outside of traditional areas such as Dublin, Galway and Killarney.
An economic study commissioned by ITIC found earlier attempts by the State to develop tourism elsewhere had not worked because private investment has not followed. ITIC favours the regional distribution of tourism benefits, but says it must be market-led and must not be dictated by "aspiration al" considerations that bear no relation to what tourists want.
ITIC consultants conclude: "Any policy to spatially spread tourism must not be at the expense of existing centres. These are Ireland's key tourist assets, they are not tourism `problems'. We downgrade them at our peril. It would be foolish to try to play in the international tourism game with other than our best team."
The ITIC says summer congestion in centres such as Killarney is not related to the number of visitors, but a lack of infrastructure investment "and poor (or no) visitor and traffic management. These problems need on-site solutions. They are not a valid rationale for trying to simplistically move visitors to other locations".
Mr Brendan Leahy, the ITIC's chief executive, conceded yesterday that the organisation's policy was at odds with Government policy. The Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, has been a strong advocate of shifting tourism towards the regions which have been traditionally weak in attracting overseas visitors. Mr Leahy said international comparisons showed concentration of visitors in Ireland was not as pronounced as elsewhere.
The consultants found that London is far more dominant in English tourism than Dublin is in Irish tourism.
Addressing Northern Ireland, the report says the Troubles had clearly stunted growth in the North and in the Border counties in the Republic. The north-west (Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim) is described as being consistently one of the worst performing tourism regions.