Hotel bookings fall drastically
ADDITIONAL Government restrictions due to Covid-19 have resulted in a collapse of hotel bookings.
The latest industry survey from the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) reveals that hotel occupancy rates across the mid-east are at 39 per cent for September, 23 per cent for October and 12 per cent for November based on business currently booked.
Since the announcement on September 15 of revised Government plans for restrictions, the weekly rate of new bookings for hotels has plummeted by 67 per cent across the country. Meanwhile, the results from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the number of overseas visitors to Ireland for the month of August dropped by 84 per cent year on year, demonstrating the severe challenges facing Irish tourism which would normally rely on overseas visitors for 70 percent of revenues.
Gerard O’Brien, IHF Wicklow Branch chair, said: ‘It is now “make or break” time. Urgent and unprecedented intervention from the Government is required to support tourism businesses and safeguard thousands of jobs throughout the sector. This must form a central plank of the Budget due to be announced next month.
‘Prior to Covid-19, Wicklow’s tourism and hospitality industry supported 13,900 jobs and generated €135 million in revenues annually for the local economy. We are now facing a deepening crisis, with 10,200 tourism jobs across Wicklow at risk this year and local tourism revenues forecast to drop by €100m as businesses fight for survival.’
The IHF maintains that urgent Government measures are required to safeguard Irish tourism,
including an increase in the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, the reduction of tourism VAT to 9 per cent, additional liquidity measures and a local authority rates waiver.
It is also calling for a restoration of international travel so as to align national travel policy with the framework being adopted by the EU. This should be backed up by an effective tracking, tracing and testing regime.
Mr O’Brien added: ‘ The outlook is exceptionally difficult and highlights the requirement for urgent measures for tourism. This situation is nothing short of disastrous for our sector, with serious implications for the tourism industry and wider economy. We are calling on the Government to implement sector-specific measures as a matter of urgency. These should include enhanced employment subsidies, a reduction in tourism VAT, extended waiver of local authority rates and greater access to banking finance.’