HOTEL and guesthouse owners in Kerry have called on general election candidates to commit to decisive action in support of the continued growth of tourism.
Bernadette Randles, Chair of the Kerry branch of the Irish Hotels Federation said while tourism had returned to growth in recent years, the recovery has not been evenly spread across the country.
Citing CSO overseas visitor numbers for 2019, which were released this week, she warned that continued growth cannot be taken for granted with regional tourism most likely to be negatively affected.
The figures show a significant fall off in growth with an increase of just 1.8% in 2019, as against 6.9% in 2018, compared to the previous year.
Ms Randles said tourism has been one of the great success stories of the economy in recent years, supporting over 260,000 jobs in every town and county, including 15,700 in Kerry, and contributing some €592 million to the local economy annually.
But, she warned: “Our industry now faces heightened uncertainty and remains vulnerable to external shocks, given our exposure to the economic environment of our major source markets, as Brexit clearly demonstrated.
“Decisive action is needed now to ensure our industry lives up to its full potential as a major engine for growth and job creation across the entire country over the next five years,” the Killarney hotelier added.
The IHF’s five-point plan calls on the next government to support tourism by addressing a number of key challenges, including:
- Tackling the high cost of doing business
- More supports for regional tourism
- Increased tourism marketing support
- Additional investment in tourism product and infrastructure
- Investment in people, skills and training
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