There’s a certain irony in one arm of Government spending heavily to promote Ireland abroad as a tourism destination just as another State agency is preparing to ensure that those heeding the message cannot actually get here.
The aviation regulator is understood by airlines to be close to announcing limits on passenger numbers next summer that, the airlines say, will effectively cut the number of seats available into and out of the State.
Tourism Ireland’s stated aim is to increase the overall economic value of overseas tourism to the island of Ireland, growing revenue by an average 5.6 per cent every year between now and 2030, with a particular focus on the higher-spending US market.
In support of this strategy, Tourism Ireland said at the start of the year that it would roll out an “extensive and targeted programme of activity” with a marketing budget of €70 million. At the time, Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin said: “The Government remains fully committed to this vitally important industry and to strengthening tourism as a fundamental part of our economy for the long term.”
She noted that Budget 2024 had delivered additional funding of €10 million for overseas marketing of Ireland as a leading holiday destination.
But Ryanair said on Friday that the 32-million-a-year passenger cap in place at Dublin Airport under a 2007 planning approval could prompt the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to cut summer 2025 passenger numbers by up to a million to ensure the airport complies with the condition.
The IAA said it will be next month before it makes any decision on passenger numbers permitted between March and October of next year. However, a 25.2 million seat cap was apparently proposed by airport operator DAA at a recent meeting of a group that advises the authority.
Industry figures agree that such a number would amount to a reduction of about a million passengers compared to this summer.
And apart from physically limiting the numbers, Ryanair warned that any cap would inevitably see all passengers paying more for their flights – both incoming tourists and Irish people heading abroad on holiday.
None of which sounds like a very sensible approach if you are trying to grow the tourism market at a time when the hospitality sector says it is already being squeezed and the Restaurant Association of Ireland says hundreds of eateries are closing.
If we’re not going to let the tourists in, we might at least save ourselves the €70 million.
