NAMA Hotels: We will need them all yet!

BeeDI

So, according to the times today, we are the destination of choice for Chinese citizens.
Now all we need is to get them in here and spending Remnbi. Another positive development down on top of the improving performance of our MNC sector and agri sector.

With each passing day, I beging to believe Lenny's mantra more and more that "we have turned the corner".


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0107/breaking43.html

Ireland tops China holiday poll

CHARLIE TAYLOR
Weeks after being selected as the top destination for 2011 by readers of the highly respected Frommer's travel guides, Ireland has again been voted as the most desirable place to visit by holidaymakers.
The country was rated as the 'Most Popular Destination of 2010' at a high-profile travel awards ceremony in Shanghai yesterday.
The Special Trip: World Travel Awards is organised by the Oriental Morning Post , a popular daily newspaper with about 400,000 readers. The award winners are voted by the paper's readers as well as travel specialists from around China.
Such news will be welcomed by the tourism industry which has been badly affected by a sharp decline in visitors to the country. According to an end-of-year review by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation published a week ago, the number of visitors to Ireland fell to a 12-year low in 2010.
The new award comes after a concerted campaign by Tourism Ireland to boost awareness of the island of Ireland as a major holiday destination in the region.
Accepting the award, Susan Li of Tourism Ireland said she was confident the honour would further enhance the reputation of the country and help to attract more visitors from China.
This is just one of a number of awards to be bestowed on Ireland by Chinese media.
A recent survey carried out by Life Style , a leading Beijing newspaper with a circulation of about 300,000, rated the country as the “Destination with the Most Potential for 2011.”
Separately, Tourism Ireland recently picked up an award for the 'Most Creative Destination' by national newspaper Global Times at the Most Popular Outbound Destinations Awards 2010 in Beijing.
Ireland's economic reputation may be in tatters but it's not just travellers in China who are falling in love with the country.
Readers of Frommer’s travel guides voted Ireland into first place as the top tourist destination for 2011 on its website. Ireland beat Paris to the top spot and was described by Frommer's readers as a "very tourist-friendly nation."

ardmacha

No doubt the naysayers will pile in. There are an increasing number of people in China that can afford such a holiday, enough to make an impact on the Irish tourist industry. Dublin is being twinned with Beijing and we can put Ireland on the map.

Some things can be done. For instance

Visas - it should be made possible for Chinese citizens with Schengen and or UK visas to get an Irish one quickly. A bit of creative thinking is needed and needed quickly. This is also needed for the distribution of tourists within the country, it is ridiculous that a lot of visa stuff is needed to include Fermanagh and Sligo on the same trip and the border areas of the Republic and NI will lose out from this. For instance at the Olympics next year could we not have a quick trip to Ireland option with expedited visas etc.

Language- perhaps the government could offer a free translation service for menus etc into Chinese, for businesses wishing to cater for potential demand.

femur61

Even if Chineese people can afford to come here I would like us to continue to be more competitive. Some don't enjoy foreign holidays, but €80 last summer for a pub dinner for family of 5 which included kids portions is a bit much.

blackdog2

ardmacha wrote: »

No doubt the naysayers will pile in. There are an increasing number of people in China that can afford such a holiday, enough to make an impact on the Irish tourist industry. Dublin is being twinned with Beijing and we can put Ireland on the map.

Some things can be done. For instance

Visas - it should be made possible for Chinese citizens with Schengen and or UK visas to get an Irish one quickly. A bit of creative thinking is needed and needed quickly. This is also needed for the distribution of tourists within the country, it is ridiculous that a lot of visa stuff is needed to include Fermanagh and Sligo on the same trip and the border areas of the Republic and NI will lose out from this. For instance at the Olympics next year could we not have a quick trip to Ireland option with expedited visas etc.

Language- perhaps the government could offer a free translation service for menus etc into Chinese, for businesses wishing to cater for potential demand.

Can I go one further and suggest a 30 landing visa which can be obtained on the flight here? That would really open us up, and massively boost our status as a tourist destination.

danbohan

ardmacha wrote: »

No doubt the naysayers will pile in. There are an increasing number of people in China that can afford such a holiday, enough to make an impact on the Irish tourist industry. Dublin is being twinned with Beijing and we can put Ireland on the map.

Some things can be done. For instance

Visas - it should be made possible for Chinese citizens with Schengen and or UK visas to get an Irish one quickly. A bit of creative thinking is needed and needed quickly. This is also needed for the distribution of tourists within the country, it is ridiculous that a lot of visa stuff is needed to include Fermanagh and Sligo on the same trip and the border areas of the Republic and NI will lose out from this. For instance at the Olympics next year could we not have a quick trip to Ireland option with expedited visas etc.

Language- perhaps the government could offer a free translation service for menus etc into Chinese, for businesses wishing to cater for potential demand.

their is a huge amount of japanese people who travel every year what percentage of them do we attract here ? of course china is a growth market we should try tap into , but remember we lost 1 million tourists last year most from our nearest neighbour and most that is down o the fact that we are still seen for our expensive rip off mentality , and it has not gone away you know

Balmed Out

Cork is twinned with Shanghai.

godtabh

femur61 wrote: »

€80 last summer for a pub dinner for family of 5 which included kids portions is a bit much.

I wouldnt have thought was a bad deal. Even if you did you still bought it. Thats the biggest problem we need to solve to reduce costs. If you pay for over priced food where is the incentive to reduce it?

catbear

If a bunch tourists who slaved away for the last two decades making stuff cheaply for us want to come here and pay for rooms that we don't need I can not think of any reason to say no!

Bring your money folks and don't be too shocked by the price of your produce in our shops, you should've seen how much it was being flogged for four years ago!