A fall-off in tourists following the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States has been reversed with growth of almost 4 per cent in the number of visitors to Ireland in 2003, according to the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation.
In an end of year statement, the industry group estimated that Ireland had 6.14 million overseas tourists in 2003, an increase of 218,000 on last year and just 45,000 short of the record number of visitors in 2000.
Revenue was said to have grown by an estimated 3.6 per cent to a record €4.1 billion.
While it described the results as "impressive" by international standards, the organisation stressed that "not all businesses have shared equally in this growth".
Recent trends to have caused concern were a tendency towards short-breaks rather than long-stay holidays, and a greater concentration of visitors in cities to the detriment of car-hire and coach-tourism operators.
The tourist confederation said it was "optimistic" a target growth rate of 3.9 per cent, or an extra 230,000 visitors, could be achieved next year. However, it said, a number of challenges remain, including retail price inflation which was "in excess of that in competing destinations".
Confederation chairman Mr Brian Dowling said that, in a year in which world tourism showed no growth, the Irish recovery "speaks volumes about the marketability of the Irish tourism product. It is all the more remarkable considering that leading European tourist destinations are believed to have achieved less than 1 per cent growth."
However, he said, "while the overall figures are up nationally, not many individual enterprises or sectors will be reporting better results this year.
"Many enterprises have had to discount and cut margins in order to stay in business. Low profitability has limited the industry's capacity to reinvest in necessary product development or to adequately increase marketing activities in order to fully capitalise on the improved prospects. The industry now needs a period of sustained growth in order to restore stability and ensure the sustainability of tourism enterprises which have gone through a very difficult time in recent years."
Growth in 2003 was greatest in the North American market with visitors from the continent increasing by 7 per cent, compared with 6 per cent from mainland Europe, and 3.5 per cent from Britain. New and developing markets declined "due substantially to problems in the Australian market which was severely hit as a result of the SARS outbreak".
The tourist confederation noted the strength of the euro against both sterling and the US dollar presented a "serious problem" for Ireland's competitiveness. "In the year to October 2003, appreciation of the euro against the dollar and sterling made Ireland 19 per cent more expensive for Americans and 11.7 per cent more expensive for British visitors. This exchange rate situation has continued to deteriorate in the interim, posing particular challenges in these markets for 2004."
The organisation said it welcomed the increase of 6 per cent in Exchequer funding for tourism services, and specifically the increased allocation of €31.5 for marketing and an extra €2.5m for product development. It estimated the private sector would spend about €120 million on marketing activities in 2004.
As well as emphasising the need for "intensified marketing" in 2004, the confederation called for "a sustained effort by Government" to control inflation, restore competitiveness and tackle insurance costs, "which as yet are showing no real improvement".
