Brexit deal vital for Irish tourism
A rise in sterling’s value on the back of a Brexit deal would be a necessary boost for tourism in Cork and Kerry, which sees a fifth of annual visitors come from the UK.
That is according to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), which warned that tourism businesses were becoming increasingly worried about the implications of a hard Brexit.
Chief executive Eoghan O’Mara Walsh said: “Certainly no deal in 10 weeks is the worst outcome for Irish tourism — sterling would likely fall thereby reducing Irish competitiveness.
A deal of some sort would hopefully help sterling stabilise and thus protect Irish tourism’s value-for-money perception.
Mr O’Mara Walsh said the value of UK visitors, who have dropped off in numbers since the Brexit vote in 2016, was crucial to Cork, Kerry and other regions dependent on tourism.
“It has been estimated that a hard Brexit could cost Irish tourism €390m in its immediate aftermath with a weakened sterling, aviation disruption, and possible border checks on the island,” he said.
Britain is by far Ireland’s largest single source market for tourists, with well over three million British visitors coming to Ireland each year, Mr O’Mara Walsh said, adding that the most recent Fáilte Ireland data showed that 22% of tourism spend in the South West is from British tourists.
“It is vitally important that there is a Brexit mitigation fund for vulnerable tourism and hospitality businesses to help them pursue market-diversification,” he said.
ITIC has urged Fáilte Ireland, who received an increase of €17m in the last budget, to roll out a Brexit fund for the tourism sector comparable to how Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland support businesses.
Mr O’Mara Walsh reiterated his criticism of the Vat increase brought in by the government from January 1.
“The 50% Vat hike imposes a tax of €466m on the tourism sector just as Brexit is about to come to pass — businesses in Cork and throughout Ireland will find trading conditions that much harder in 2019, at the very time that they should be being supported rather than undermined,” he said.
The reduced Vat rate brought in during the recession to boost tourism was raised back to 13.5% from 9% in the last Budget.
