Ms Denyse Campbell:

The IHF welcomes this opportunity to discuss with the committee the development of rural tourism. As Ireland’s largest indigenous employer, tourism is highly effective at spreading employment opportunities and prosperity across the entire country and contributing toward a more balanced economic model. Nationally, tourism supports over 220,000 livelihoods. With approximately 70% of tourism jobs outside of Dublin, tourism’s extensive geographic distribution reaching every town and county is critical to sustaining our wider regional and rural economies. In addition to providing local employment, tourism businesses buy local services, source locally produced food and provide a vital infrastructure in support of local business and the communities in which we operate. In 2019, tourism generated over €7.5 billion in revenues, €5 billion of which was in regions outside Dublin. The benefit is also seen by the Exchequer, with tourism generating approximately €2 billion in taxes annually. This does not come about by accident. Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland do fantastic work, including supporting rural tourism through targeted product development, industry support and marketing initiatives. Looking to the future, tourism can continue to grow and prosper provided it remains at the heart of decision-making relating to Government. Rural tourism offers significant potential with opportunities to extend the season, diversify markets and encourage visitors to travel more widely. As outlined in our submission, we believe this can be achieved through further investment in attractions and the development of activity tourism, wellness, outdoor recreation and agritourism. This should go hand in hand with greater provision of accessible public transport.

Taking a wider view, a long-term commitment on the part of the Government is required to ensure the right conditions are in place to support the sustainable development of our industry. We cannot afford to be complacent. Every tourism euro spent is hard won in what is an increasingly competitive international market. As such, the high cost of doing business in Ireland remains one of the most pressing issues facing tourism businesses, including throughout the regions. Needless to say, taxation policy is a key tool at the Government’s disposal to create the right environment for growth and recovery. We have seen the results in terms of Ireland’s approach to attracting foreign direct investment which has been enormously successful. Likewise for the indigenous economy, the Government’s approach to the VAT rate has delivered excellent results supporting tourism employment and businesses. I would point out, however, that Government’s planned increase in VAT from September would result in Ireland having the third highest tourism VAT rate in all of Europe. This means Irish tourism businesses, including rural enterprises, will be at a significant disadvantage in seeking to attract visitors to our shores.

We look forward to exploring these issues further with the committee.