Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Whereas the agreement may lead to considerable economic benefits for the business and tourism sectors, I have concerns for its implications for Shannon Airport and the western region. Tourism is more important to the western economy than it is to the Dublin economy. Up to 7.5% of all economic activity in the region relates to tourism. A recent survey by the Shannon marketing group showed that Shannon could lose 100,000 transatlantic tourists because of the changes with the open skies deal. From a Kerry perspective, 68% of tourists will have landed at Shannon.

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