Whiskey sector faces challenges ahead, says association
CANCER warnings on Irish alcohol products could hit the burgeoning whiskey tourism industry, the sector has warned.
Restrictions on advertising distillery tours also enacted in the Republic’s recent Public Health (Alcohol) Act will present another challenge for producers hoping to attract visitors from around the world, the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) said.
The notes of caution came as the association toasted a successful year for whiskey tourism.
Distillery visits rose by 13% in 2018, with 923,000 people touring producers around the island, a trade that supported 356 jobs.
The IWA said the positive figures indicated the sector was on track to reach its target visitor numbers of 1.9m by 2025.
But IWA head William Lavelle has warned against complacency in light of a number of expected challenges in the year ahead.
“The recent increase in the VAT rate on the hospitality sector poses challenges for Irish tourism. It means more expensive food, drink and accommodation for tourists, putting pressure on the already relatively low proportion of tourists spending on paid attractions like distillery visitor centres,” he said.
“At the same time, a disorderly Brexit will likely lead to a further weakening of sterling, harming tourism from the UK and Northern Ireland. The recently-enacted Public Health (Alcohol) Act will constrain opportunities for the advertising of Irish whiskey distilleries as visitor attractions.
“The act also imposes an internationally-unprecedented stigma on Irish whiskey in the form of cancer warning labels which our competitors, the Scotch and Bourbon whiskey tourism industry, don’t face.”