A consultants' report commissioned by Bord Failte sends out a signal of frightening clarity. Nothing in the entire array of the Irish tourist product is more important than the quality of the Irish welcome. No price can be put on it; it is, quite literally, priceless. It compensates for uncertain weather and the relatively high costs of most components of an Irish holiday. Now, the consultants are advising there is a perception in the British market - by far the most important - that "the traditional sense of hospitality and friendliness, which lies at the core of the Irish product, may be declining".
There can be no more chilling warning to an industry now attracting 6.3 million visitors annually and generating £3 billion in revenue. Some 153,000 are now employed in the sector. The Government has set a target of a further 5 per cent growth in the current year. Such a target would be ambitious at the best of times, but it is not achievable if the industry's most valuable asset is under threat.
Irish tourism was a remarkable success throughout the 1990s. It was helped by intangibles like the popularity of Irish music, virtually all over the world. It was also helped by some very tangible factors like low oil prices, low inflation, moderate pay increases and competitive rates. Most of these elements have now turned against us. The industry will have to muster all its resilience to meet this newly formed challenge.
The consultants' report lists a number of other perceived weaknesses in the Irish tourist product. We are familiar with most of them, but it is instructive to know that our visitors have registered them too. They note gaps in our public transport infrastructure, poor sign-posting and the abundance of litter.
The report notes a "lack of planning control in some areas". It is not specific but we may assume this refers to the proliferation, helped by tax breaks, of holiday homes in scenic areas. There has been a sharp decline in angling holidays from Britain. Again, the report is not specific but this is bound to be connected to increased pollution of our lakes and rivers. The report says our visitors complain of congestion in peak periods in the west and south-west. In the high season, it has been known for 100 coaches to leave Killarney almost simultaneously for a tour of the Ring of Kerry. This is a stupid degradation of a famous tourist product which the coach tour operators and the local industry should attend to without delay.