Why Ireland's so called 'Tourist Industry' is a joke

meglome wrote: »

Spent a couple of weeks going round Ireland last 'summer' with some Americans. Hotels were priced fairly reasonably but there has been large falls in prices since the tiger kicked the bucket. But woe-betide if there's an event on in the area, the gouging begins. B&B's in the main were a horrible rip-off, €70 for two a night when you can get a hotel for that.

Tourist sites were often very expensive, It got to the point we'd go up to some places and look without going in as it was costing a fortune. Basically any site could cost €6 in. The Cliffs of Moher at €6 per person to park (though we just walked around the long way, €6 per person my arse). Powerscourt is €6 per person and the waterfall is €5.50 per person. So for four people that's €46 for an afternoon.

We have some great sights and I enjoyed the trip but many if not most are overpriced.

If you put your toe in the water is that another fiver? Seriously that's greed at work. What they did to the Cliffs of Moher was a joke. Let's build an interpretative centre for cliffs of all things, then block off the cliffs with stone slabs, build a big car park and charge everybody for this.

Has Maninasia ever smoked?outside at this time of year?
The pubs have the feel of a library now. compared to before the ban.

Galway city museum opens 10 - 5 Tuesday to Saturday. I used to see 30 to 40 people walk up to the closed doors over the space of an hour every Sunday I had breakfast there. It is run by those inept muppets in the Galway city council, surely the worst in the country.

Unshelved wrote: »

The Cliffs of Moher and the Powerscourt Waterfall are both privately owned, not state owned, and the owners are entitled to charge what they wish for access. I'm not trying to defend them, I'm just saying that that's the way of private enterprise.

I never suggested they were state owned or that the state should intervene. I was only saying that they are overpriced and ultimately will hurt tourism in this country.

jack presley wrote: »

This 'let's rip off the tourist' isn't just an Irish thing which you might think it was reading this thread. Having been to numerous spots in Europe and the states over the past few years, i can say that the experiences and prices at the cliffs of moher and powers court where you spend a fortune happens everywhere.

And when I was ripped off in other countries I didn't like it. I then warned other people not to do the same, potentially discouraging them from visiting those countries.

H Maninasia,
Thanks for the patronising advice but I quit a couple of years ago. I still think the pubs are dead without the smoky atmosphere.

Judgement Day wrote: »

No! That's precisely CIE/Failite Ireland crazy thinking. Turn our back on our closest market geograhically, and culturally, and try and promote Ireland to Asian and Indian tourists - madness. This is just the sort of crazy thinking that has seen the number of UK visitors to Ireland dropping off and never achieving a fraction of its potential. A UK visitor, once they actually get here, is much more likely to spend money in pubs, restaurants, etc. than somebody from the far East with no cultural affinity to the place. We need to promote Ireland to UK visitors for specialist holidays - walking, fishing, canals, history, surfing etc.etc. not spend millions trying to promote package holidays to people from the far East who won't know why they've come, what they've seen and will NOT spend in pubs, shops etc.

as a compulsive irish tourist myself,i would like to put in my pennyworth, most tourists to ireland are of a certain age group, with some irishness in their family,they bring their own cars over, book self catering holidays,the next group are the mid age who come over for fishing/golf ect,then there is the younger side , fly over and stay in the cities like dublin and cork and party, you also get those who are part of a all in package holiday,travel on a coach to a few different places,and dont spend that much cash. the changes i have found over the years is how expensive everything has gone, irelands biggest sells are its warm and friendly people, and lovely countryside ,it is a big downer to find that now many of the shops manned by non irish, its not the same as the ,/where are you staying/how are you liking ireland/i have family in manchester,also the way the locals take to you ,i can say i love places like shillelagh.carlow. and kilkenny,but those EU nationals and high prices are not helping,

getz wrote: »

then there is the younger side , fly over and stay in the cities like dublin and cork and party,

Unfortunately back when we were permanently rich (around 2005/06) we made the decision that we no longer wanted groups of young English males and females with high levels of disposeable income roaming the streets of our cities having themselves a good time.

So opening hours were slashed, late licenses reduced in number, drink promotions banned, pubs/clubs/hotels encouraged by residents associations and the police to bar hen parties, stag parties and general youthful frollickery.

And it will be a tough market segment to win back.

parsi wrote: »

I believe that chasing the Chinese market is the new Holy Grail. They're all going to arrive on direct flights to Knock or somewhere.

It's much more than the Chinese market, but the Chinese market is definitely important due to 100s millions of new middle class who are eager to travel overseas.

As a strategic investment and in terms of ROI it makes more sense to target new markets other than UK, the UK is also having economic problems at the moment.
It's one thing to be AWARE of something, another to KNOW it. I have personally seen the massive increase in Asian tourists in mainland Europe and all around Asia, it's time for Ireland to tap into that too.

maninasia wrote: »

As a strategic investment and in terms of ROI it makes more sense to target new markets other than UK, the UK is also having economic problems at the moment.
It's one thing to be AWARE of something, another to KNOW it. I have personally seen the massive increase in Asian tourists in mainland Europe and all around Asia, it's time for Ireland to tap into that too.

Interesting Economist article about the topic:
http://www.economist.com/node/17722582

China’s newly mobile middle classes like to visit established spots like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Venice’s Grand Canal. But the visitors have also marked out a grand tour all of their own, shaped by China’s fast-developing consumer culture and by distinctive quirks of culture, history and politics. The result is jaw-dropping fame, back in China, for a list of places that some Europeans would struggle to pinpoint on a map: places like Trier, Metzingen, Verona, Luxembourg, Lucerne and the Swiss Alp known as Mount Titlis.

Ireland's nowhere to be seen on the itinerary .

mistermouse wrote: »

I gather Coillte are planning to develop around 10 of these off road tracks in the near future

Doubtfull! Not that I have heard of anyways... The current trails that exist with the possible exception of Ballyhoura are woefully inadequate and will not draw a single tourist from abroad..
We have no world class venue's and to highlight my point, Ireland was supposed to host the European Masters MTB race 2011 which has now been lost to Slovenia!

LINK

Judgement Day wrote: »

maninasia - thanks for the lecture. I'm well aware of the development of the Chinese/Indian middle classes and the respective population sizes but I still think that it's utter madness to squander what little money is left on this market. The UK is on our doorstep and is largely untapped due to Bord Failte/Failte Ireland etc. having their collective heads up their holes for years. Even some people in the hospitality industry seem delusional in their comprehension of what brings in visitors; one quote I heard on RTE in recent days 'visitors come to Ireland to see how the Irish live' - Oh come on, when did you last plan a holiday anywhere on that basis? :rolleyes:

Targeting Asian tiger tourists, wealthy Russians and Arab visitors is indeed a stupid and wasteful idea.

A lot of the nouveau riche of these nations tend to gravitate towards the luxury 5 star all inclusive tourist resort market, Ireland does not really cater to that.
If they are doing 'cultural tourism' at all it tends to be with an eye to taking a photo of oneself at 'prestige sites' like the Eiffel Tower or Buckingham Palace. They tend to have very little interest in a photo at Newgrange because it carries very little cache and they would generally rather die then get photographed in front of some tumbledown famine cottage (I mean who the hell would that impress?).
I noticed this trend in Egypt quite a bit, the Russians never went near any of the historic sites, they tended to prefer parading along on the beach in Hurgada wearing high heels and as much bling as possible while shouting into a phone. The Chinese love to shop, same goes for the Arabs, they flock to the high end shops of London and Geneva and Paris, Grafton St. has little to offer this market. Not to mention the fact that one of our few real draws, the good ‘ol Irish pub is unlikely to be frequented by the Arabs now is it, and the Chinese are not big drinkers (but at least they will buy a few expensive bottles of Whiskey to bring home).

Judgement Day wrote: »

conorhal - superb post that encapsulates what I was struggling to say. I don't think the high end spenders from China & Russia will be flocking in to McDonalds on Grafton Street or Anne Summers on O'Connell Street. Japanese golf tourists would seem a more obvious market since most of them never get further than the 'driving range' at home.

Indeed, a good links course (which most of our renowned courses are) is attractive mostly to the American golfing enthusiast market, it's too difficult for the driving range swingers and rarely comes with a cocktail. No, these types of tourists prefer Knightsbridge, Dubai, exclusive Swiss ski resorts (where they spend more time buying watches then skiing) and lounging on exotic beaches in tax havens. It's about knowing your product and your market.

When it comes to seeing the country and experiencing it's people you have to give it to the Brits, French, Germans and Americans and I think we are steadily alienating these markets. If you look at what many tourists cite as 'the best experience of their holiday' it's the natural beauty of the country (which we have spent 10yrs concreting over), followed closely the friendliness of the people, who have been replaced by Poles, Latvians and Lithuanians in our hotels and service industries. This has been a huge mistake. An American friend of mine loves Irish bars, anywhere in the world, but he is particular about what constitutes an Irish bar. According to him it’s not a sign that tells you how far from Tipparary you happen to be, it’s not the Guinness or some plastic shamrock in the window of a bar called McGinty’s, no, the only place that’s entitled to call itself an Irish bar is one with an Irish barman. On a recent flying visit he was actually shocked at how few Irish people he encountered during his stay in Dublin.