Tourists want value

The Irish tourist sector is risking long-term damage by underestimating the importance visitors attach to value for money

The Irish tourist sector is risking long-term damage by underestimating the importance visitors attach to value for money. In recent months, spokesmen from various sections of the hospitality industry have attempted to blame Government legislation on smoking in the workplace and under-aged drinking for declining profits while ignoring price increases and poor quality service as the primary contributory factors.

It is time they took a reality check and stopped playing political games.

Recent assessments conclude this is a rip-off country for visitors and that the much-vaunted "Ireland of the Welcomes" has all but disappeared. Staff members are found to be rude and unhelpful in hotels, and the cost of food and drink unacceptably high.

For the past number of years, consumer surveys have consistently warned hoteliers, restaurant owners and publicans that visitors are seriously dissatisfied with price levels and the quality of services being provided. The reaction of the industry has been not to reduce prices and re-train staff but to embark with the Government on an advertising campaign designed to move up-market and attract wealthier visitors. This may provide a stop-gap measure in relation to golfing holidays and other niche products. But such visitors are keenly aware of what is good value.

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The prices of goods here, according to the Central Bank, exceed the EU average by 12 per cent. The common currency allows European visitors to automatically contrast prices with those at home, while the weakness of the US dollar makes American visitors particularly sensitive to overcharging.

Last month, publicans and hoteliers in Donegal and the border counties claimed to be losing business to Northern Ireland because of the ban on smoking in the workplace. Now publicans along the west coast - particularly in Kerry and Galway - are campaigning against the law that requires under-aged persons to vacate licensed premises after 9 p.m.. As a society, we have a serious problem with alcohol abuse. Drunken parents in charge of children is just part of it. That law should be retained.

The hospitality sector is concerned by falling profits. In spite of that, its members recently raised drink prices, along with other charges. A four per cent rise in the number of visitors last year left earnings flat. That pattern is repeating itself, even though tourist traffic from the US, England and Germany is growing. If the number of foreign visitors rises, but they spend less money, there is something seriously wrong. The industry must take urgent action on price and quality of service.