Jobs at risk in tourism, says Deenihan
Fine Gael has warned jobs are at risk in the tourism industry unless the Government acts swiftly.
The call was made by Fine Gael Spokesman on Arts, Tourism and Sport, Jimmy Deenihan TD.
Speaking during Fine Gael's Private Members time in the Dail, Deputy Deenihan called for additional funding to be made available to Tourism Ireland to launch an immediate marketing campaign in the US and UK to win back critical market share in those countries.
"The numbers of visitors from the United States is likely to be down one quarter on the numbers that came here in 2000. While Britain is spending €11m marketing itself in the US this summer, Ireland's promotional budget has already run dry," said Deputy Deenihan..
"The numbers coming from Britain will only improve if there is a late surge in booking. However, Ireland has currently no marketing campaign in place for the British market
"There is likely to be a fall off in the level of coach tours of around 40%, threatening closure of countless businesses," he added.
