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Fáilte Ireland is continuing to support the tourism sector on the road to recovery, providing supports for businesses, driving domestic demand and investing in tourism experiences across the country, writes CEO, Paul Kelly (pictured)

As the tourism and hospitality industry carefully moves towards further reopening in the coming weeks, attention will turn to the speed and depth of recovery for the sector. Unquestionably recovery of tourism will play an essential part in the overall national recovery.

The pandemic devastated an industry that was the backbone of our economy nationally and regionally, and the facts bear this out. Tourism accounted for 260,000 or 1 in 9 jobs, and was worth almost €8 billion to our economy annually before Covid struck.

For every €1 million spent by tourists, €720,000 stays in the Irish economy, and this sustains infrastructure and businesses that are vital to the growth and success of local communities across the country.

Supporting The Industry

Fáilte Ireland’s response to the COVID-19 crisis was immediate, constructive and comprehensive, involving financial and key business supports.  Our work continues at pace, and our priority remains on delivering for the tourism industry to provide the support to survive and the capacity to recover and renew.

In Association with

We are focused on delivering grant schemes that provide financial assistance, domestic marketing at national and county level, outdoor investment, and business and employee supports.

We set up an online Business Support Hub to provide support on areas from finance and sales and marketing to operational performance, HR and employee wellbeing. Businesses are facing a number of new challenges as they reopen, particularly around labour supply, and to address this we have created a suite of supports to help with recruitment, staff onboarding and training.

Investing in World-Class Visitor Attractions

Developing top-class visitor attractions is integral to the recovery of the sector, so we continue to invest in tourism experiences across the country. We recently announced a major investment of €73m to develop four new world-class Irish tourist attractions as part of Fáilte Ireland’s Platforms for Growth Investment Grants Scheme for Immersive Heritage and Cultural Attractions. Fáilte Ireland is investing €44.3m of the total investment, making it the most significant investment in visitor attractions that we have ever undertaken.

The large-scale tourism attractions awarded funding are in counties Cavan, Donegal, Dublin and Mayo, and cater for all tastes. We are investing €4.8m in the Shannon Pot & Cavan Burren Park, a UNESCO Global Geopark in the border county of Cavan; €9.3m in Fort Dunree & Head, a fort perched on a hilltop in Donegal overlooking the Wild Atlantic Way; €10m in ‘This is Ireland’, a state-of-the-art flight simulator in the centre of Dublin; and €20.2m in the reimagining and rewilding of the vast estate of Westport House Estate & Gardens in Mayo.

This investment will have far-reaching national and regional economic benefits, and will help visitors connect with Ireland and bring the country’s vibrant culture, heritage and people to life. Our economic analysis predicts this investment will create up to 8,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next 10 years, and over €290m will be generated from domestic and international visitors.

There has been a significant increase in people enjoying outdoor water-based activities such as kayaking, surfing, paddle-boarding and open water swimming, and we recently announced an investment of €19m to develop world-class Facility Centres for water-based activities at 22 beaches and lakes across the country, including amenities such as toilet, shower and changing facilities, secure storage and orientation points.

We are also seeing a transformation in the quality of outdoor dining experiences across the country, driven by the creativity and resilience of the industry, with funding support from Fáilte Ireland.

Major New Domestic Marketing Campaign

Driving domestic tourism is key to recovery. We launched our Keep Discovering domestic marketing campaign at the end of May to inspire people to take breaks in Ireland this summer and into the shoulder season, with a particular focus on the urban areas that we know are experiencing lower levels of occupancy. The campaign is now live across TV, press, radio, PR, out-of-home and digital channels and has been met with great positivity across the country.

We have also partnered with Tripadvisor, Expedia Group, SuperValu Getaway Breaks and many others on a new online sales campaign to drive domestic holiday bookings.

Looking to the Future

Looking to the future, recovery will not be immediate, but tourism will recover. Even as businesses reopen and customers return, there will still be many challenges to overcome so the speed of recovery is hard to predict.

Fáilte Ireland remains committed to supporting the tourism industry on this road to recovery and we are developing innovative plans to ensure the tourism sector can survive and emerge from this crisis ready for business.