Massive plunge in tourist figures. licensing laws and €10 tourist tax did not help.

Run_to_da_hills

Although there is a global recession on I can also blame some recent short sighted moves by the current Government that did not help with these figures. O Leary may be right with his statement of tumble weed appearing on the runways of Shannon by next year after the recent introduction of the €10 travel tax. It may not seem not a lot to some, but it all adds up when you take into consideration some of the other rip off charges that this country has to offer.

Recent nanny state club licensing laws and the price of drink are also shooting the entertainment industry in the foot which also has an knock on effect on tourism. Word is getting out on how pathetic a night out on the town is in Ireland compared to other capital cities across Europe. How can someone come here to enjoy themselves when they get kicked out on to the streets by 2.30AM in most night clubs. (2.00AM in Ennis)


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0715/1224250692392.html

Joey the lips

I have saw no problem with the 10 euro tax and no I am not in govt or fav of the goverment. If your seriously trying to convince me that a year of planning a lovely hoilday in the good old emerald isle would go down the tubes because of an additional €10 tax well then i think all those along with michael o leary are daft,

Now that said, as regard the licenceing laws, this is a contentious issue. For example I would love to see all the pubs close at 12. But then I live on a street where countless drunks pass. But is that fair. No! I think pubs and clubs should be allowed stay open 24 hours if they wish. The crap and rubbish about extra policing could be offset with say an additional tax on drink past a certain hour to pay for extra police etc. Then again more tax! Thats your arguement!

I think if it were only ireland suffering a recession these factors such as increased pricing etc could be explored better but as the whole world is suffering I think it is to hard to judge.

P. Breathnach

I think the recession is a more significant factor than any travel tax or limits on drinking time.

kmick

If you had the choice to go to Ireland or Wales and Ireland was 10 euro dearer you would probably choose Wales. Why disadvantage yourself when times are bad you should be making yourself more attractive. The government did the same with VAT and we saw where that got us.

Run_to_da_hills

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I think the recession is a more significant factor than any travel tax or limits on drinking time.

More the reason why tourists will penny pinch and try to get the best value of enjoyment on a holiday destination.

JMcCR

Joey the lips wrote: »

I have saw no problem with the 10 euro tax

That tourist tax of €10 really makes my blood boil. What about those of us who have had to leave the country to work...

I work in Holland during the week and fly home each weekend. Spend my earnings at home as much as possible and therefor bring money to the country, yet I get hit with this stupid tax on every flight which adds about €80 a month to my travel costs. :mad::mad::mad:

turgon

I cant see how people think this €10 tax is meaningless.

When I was booking my holidays last year I went to Frankfurt simply because it was the cheapest. If they had put a €10 tourist tax on my flight (each way) I wouldnt have gone and their net tax take would have gone down.

I wonder sometimes have government ever put any thought into their economic proposals. Are they stupid enough to universally think that higher tax rate = (proportionally) higher tax take?

silverharp

i'd say the recession is the biggest element. Dublin is a city break destination and one would have to assume that people will cut these out and stick to their annual hols.

the_syco

The 18-25 Irish population wouldn't be able to handle 24-hour pubs. Heck, most of them can't handle pubs that close at 3am

Saying that, changing the off-license closing time to 10pm, and changing other drink-related laws means that people will spend less, and have a sh|tter time in this country.

Riskymove

the travel tax must surely be a factor for weekend breaks, people who travel regularly on business etc

I cannot see how it would really impact on people who have planned to visit ireland for their main holiday

the main reasons would imo be the general recession and the high prices in this country

P. Breathnach

turgon wrote: »

... When I was booking my holidays last year I went to Frankfurt simply because it was the cheapest... I wonder sometimes have government ever put any thought into their economic proposals...

I wonder if people ever put any thought into their holiday proposals?

Yes, it is reasonable to seek out the best fares, but to choose a holiday destination on the basis of the cost of getting there seems an odd way to go about things. The cost of getting there is a relatively small component of the cost of a holiday, and how much you like a destination has very little connection with air fares -- if anything, the fares to more attractive destinations are higher because the airlines can fill the flights more easily.

is_that_so

Recession is far more likely. Spain had a 12% fall in numbers in the first 5 months of the year and they reckon numbers will be down as much as 10% this summer. I have no doubt other countries are experiencing the same problems. Much as I dislike the idea of that tax €10 is really nothing in the overall cost of a holiday.

turgon

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Yes, it is reasonable to seek out the best fares, but to choose a holiday destination on the basis of the cost of getting there seems an odd way to go about things.

Why so? All else being equal the air fare makes the difference. I went on that three day weekend for €200 including spending money (which included 2 nights on the town). And extra €20 would have been a %10 increase. Now I know Im a budget traveler so the tax off of me wouldt be huge, but it still makes a difference.

Add to the fact, of course, that Ireland is already ridiculously expensive as it is. The government whole policy seems to have made this country completely uncompetitive in terms of tourism and basic employment.

turgon

is_that_so wrote: »

Much as I dislike the idea of that tax €10 is really nothing in the overall cost of a holiday.

As the recession kicks in holidays will be getting shorter so the combined €20 will become a bigger part.

is_that_so

turgon wrote: »

As the recession kicks in holidays will be getting shorter so the combined €20 will become a bigger part.

For a budget traveller like yourself yes. I am planning trips later in the year and I am far more concerned about costs at the other end, accommodation, travel , spending money etc. than that €20. I think what is more likely to affect people is whether they think they can afford the overall holiday. A member of my family has decided against the annual foreign holiday this year not based on that tax but because his salary is down so much and he can't afford it.

topper75

You are spending hundreds on your holiday regardless of destination. Would you really change around your entire plan to visit Ireland because of a tenner? Doubtful that many tourists would ever think like that. I respect what O'Leary has achieved but you have to put a sieve over your ear when listening to such pronouncements.

Licensing? LOL

Any tourist I've observed in Ireland are out of the pubs before closing - so I dunno how they could be concerned about clubs closing early. This is more a prob for the natives I suspect. LOL.

The percentage drop off is disappointing but not surprising. Folk around USA and Europe/UK are feeling the pinch like us. Simple as.

Run_to_da_hills

€10 tourist tax on a family of two adults and two teenage kids is an additional €80 on the a price of a holiday here.

Mr. Presentable

Maybe I'm daft, but isn't the tax on departures from Ireland? And it's not €10.00 either, it's €2.00 or €10.00 depending on where you're going.

turgon

Both ways asfaik. €2 is only on domestic flights.

Mr. Presentable

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/budget-2009-10-travel-tax-on-flights-from-irish-airports-1498791.html


Air Travel Tax New charge for air journeys of over 300km

€10

Shorter Journeys (Exceptions will apply)

€2

Terrontress

It has to do with currency. So many UK travellers are staying away from Ireland, specifically Dublin, as their sterling will buy them so little. Even people from the North are not coming down so often.

A pint of beer in Manchester at 11pm costs £3. In Dublin the same pint will cost €5.50 - about £5. So if you are from London and organising a stag do, where will you go? Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle etc. or Dublin.

People in the Uk are looking for places to go that aren't in the Eurozone. Croatia, Morocco etc.

Ireland was expensive for people from the UK before their currency collapsed. Plus pubs hiking prices on rugby weekends left a bad taste in their mouths.

I don't think the flight tax will have had much of an impact.

astrofool

Shannon has always been a hairs breath away from going to tumbleweeds, the recession is just going to quicken the process.

turgon

Also, the fact that the government backtailed on this (€2 rule went from domestic flights to flights < 300km) proves this has an adverse effect.

Run_to_da_hills

turgon wrote: »

Also, the fact that the government backtailed on this (€2 rule went from domestic flights to flights < 300km) proves this has an adverse effect.

That move was only in the interests of saving Aer Arran as most of their UK flights are <300

djpbarry

kmick wrote: »

If you had the choice to go to Ireland or Wales and Ireland was 10 euro dearer you would probably choose Wales.

I think that’s a little over-simplistic. Most people come to Ireland because it's Ireland, not because it's cheaper than other destinations.

turgon wrote: »

Add to the fact, of course, that Ireland is already ridiculously expensive as it is.

Exactly – so an extra €10 is going to pretty negligible relative to the total cost of the holiday.

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

€10 tourist tax on a family of two adults and two teenage kids is an additional €80 on the a price of a holiday here.

And what would be the total cost of a holiday for a family of four in Ireland?

snubbleste

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

€10 tourist tax on a family of two adults and two teenage kids is an additional €80 on the a price of a holiday here.

It's a departure tax, so it would be €40
and I disagree with the term tourist tax, it affects non-tourists.

Run_to_da_hills

snubbleste wrote: »

It's a departure tax, so it would be €40
and I disagree with the term tourist tax, it affects non-tourists.

O'Leary calls it a tourist tax.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=jul&story=gen-en-140709-2

Mr. Presentable

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

O'Leary calls it a tourist tax.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=jul&story=gen-en-140709-2

And bang goes any credibility you might have had.........

Joey the lips

JMcCR wrote: »

That tourist tax of €10 really makes my blood boil. What about those of us who have had to leave the country to work...

I work in Holland during the week and fly home each weekend. Spend my earnings at home as much as possible and therefor bring money to the country, yet I get hit with this stupid tax on every flight which adds about €80 a month to my travel costs. :mad::mad::mad:

Quite right your a reason its not working. That is fair enough I never thouht of that! But you are in the minority thats the reason you will be thought of as not mattering. Simularly business class travellers that fly ryanair travel last minute. The fact that they pay heafty through the nose already will not inconvience them with 10 euro more

However those of you saying that you would travel to x destination because its 10 euro cheaper well now thats just plain daft!

If that were the case you would never leave the country in the first place. You travel to the prefered destination for a combination of reasons

But having thought of it logically I wonder if the charge would be better used by taxing people leaving the country rather than coming in,

professore

A huge factor for people with families is that children (i.e. anyone under 18) are not allowed in pubs after 9 PM. If you have 2 kids 16 and 18 and you want to go to a trad session after 9 PM with them then you're out of luck.

Most Europeans would be used to bringing their teenage children along to the local pub or café and I don't see a problem with it. However here a pub means skulling 10 pints and a few vodkas and red bull so probably there is sense in the argument.

We are really becoming a nation of boring nanny state f**kers.

Dob74

The 10 euro doesnt help but the price of hotels hear is outragous.
Paid 100 euro for one night in Killarney in a 3 star, which I considered a dump. A room overlooking a carpark.
Paid 100 euro for three nights in Prague for a 4 star, which was top class.
We have priced ourselves out the market. If D4 can drop there prices so can most hotels in the country.