Hotel & Restaurant Times 201205 Apr/May

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APRIL/MAY ‘12

THE

BUSINESS

PUBLICATION

FOR

THE

HOTEL

AND

RESTAURANT

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INDUSTRY

THE REAL WILD WEST TOURISM INITIATIVES ABOUND AS INDUSTRY GETS CREATIVE

READY, WILLING & ABLE NEW Q-MARK FOR ACCESSIBILITY

9% VAT RATE CRITICAL FOR SURVIVAL

CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? …ABOUT NAMA THAT IS

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13/03/2012 12:46

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CONTENTS

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COVER: West coast walks from Fáilte Ireland

CONTENTS NEWS APPOINTMENTS IRISH FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY UNITES 9% VAT RATE MUST BE RETAINED JLCS – LABOURING THE POINT VANESSA MARKEY, TOURISM IRELAND ABLE AWARDS BIM THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS TOURISM AMBASSADORS VISITOR SATISFACTION LEVELS UP RAI NEWS TOURISM IRELAND NEWS BOOKASSIST IN NAMA WE TRUST? GLOBAL, MOBILE BUZZ RAI CONFERENCE BRAND DUBLIN PLACE ON A PLATE WINE KENCO 2GO! INFINITY WATER IHF CONFERENCE VOLVO OCEAN RACE

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Hotel & Restaurant Times is circulated on subscription to Chief Executives, Directors and Proprietors of Hotels and Restaurants in Ireland along with Architects, Interior Designers and Suppliers to the Hotel and Restaurant Industry.

Managing Editor: Cyril McAree Contributors: Pavel Barter, Erica Svanstrom, Cynthia Bifolchi, Paul Counter, Frank Corr, Niamh Mc Gregor, Dr. Des O’Mahony, Restaurants Association of Ireland, Tourism Ireland & Fáilte Ireland Design, Layout & Production: Andy Ryan @ DIA - 086 8050464 Printing: GPS All paper used in the production of this magazine comes from certifiably sustainable forestry.

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ALL CONTENTS OF THE MAGAZINE ARE COPYRIGHT OF HOTEL & RESTAURANT TIMES: H&R HOUSE, CARTON COURT, MAYNOOTH, CO. KILDARE. TEL/FAX: 01 628 5447.

E-MAIL: editorial@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie WEB: www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12

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Stepping up to the plate

editorial

editorial editorial editorial

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EDITORIAL

The last few weeks have thrown up an eclectic mix of issues: some good some bad and some bizarre.

Has the reduced VAT rate really worked? Various interest groups from all sides have their own spin on this. In March 2012, CSO figures showed an increase of 6000 jobs in the accommodation and food service sector, since the Jobs Initiative was launched in May 2011, suggesting it has resulted in creating real employment. The good news for the sector is that it looks like the 9% VAT rate will be retained. Speaking at the RAI’s Annual Conference dinner, at the Westin Hotel in Dublin, Minister Varadkar reiterated the importance of the tourism sector to the Irish economy and reaffirmed his commitment to the industry and his wish to retain the reduced VAT rate, provided that no major fiscal upheaval prevents the Government from doing so. Fingers crossed.

The old chestnut of the JLC still continues to stalk the industry. Despite universal opposition from all operators within the various sectors this issue continues to cause real concern. Surveys conducted by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) of their members showed the reintroduction of the JLCs as a major issue of concern for hospitality businesses across Ireland.

According to the IHF survey, cost competitiveness is the single biggest barrier to job creation within the tourism industry. Only 15% of hotels and guesthouses expect to increase staffing levels in 2012 with 89% of hoteliers stating that the reintroduction of the JLC system would hinder their ability to take on additional staff this year. Despite evidence that the halt to JLC’s resulted in more restaurants opening on a Sunday , thus creating much needed employment, the battle lines seem once more to be drawn on this contentious issue.

Bizarrely, certain state-originating costs remain outside of the control of most businesses. These costs are not showing the same degree of downward movement.

This has caused tourism representative groups and individual businesses to become increasingly vocal about what they call “regulatory burdens”. The industry uses this term to cover a range of costs originating from the state. Their concern is that state imposed costs are higher than they need to be. Plus, their concerns are not restricted to regulations. Commercial rates are cited as the industry’s biggest “regulatory burden”. Add to this, water rates, grease-trap/disposal rates, the continued fudging on the JLC issue, and you begin to wonder, do those in power truly understand the real difficulties facing the industry today? While some progress has been made, it is the same old story: it is taking too long to address the issues and continues to lead to annoyance and frustration from operators within the industry. If hoteliers and restaurant owners moved at the same pace, the industry would have collapsed a long time ago.

It’s now time for real leadership and for leaders to step up to the plate and take decisive action where needed.

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Cyril McAree Editor

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NEWS Turning towns tidy

Building on the Tidy Towns seal of approval, Fáilte Ireland has this year invited the top 100 Tidy Towns from 2011 to apply for the very first Tourism Towns Award - a new scheme developed to recognise and reward excellence in tourism development and support Irish towns to enhance the visitor’s experience of their local area.

Ship of dreams

Model Nicola Haughey at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s live blogging event, which took place from inside the new Titanic Belfast building. The event allowed hundreds of thousands of potential British and European visitors to experience the new attraction online before members of the public stepped through the doors.

NEWS

Dublin Hilton boss scoops manager award

Erwin Verhoog, General Manager of Hilton Dublin Hotel has raised the bar for hotel management standards in the UK & Ireland, having been announced as Hotel Manager of the Year.The awards are hosted annually by Hilton Worldwide for all UK & Ireland hotels within the group, of which there are over 100.

Tourism Ireland comment on winter tourism figures Commenting on the CSO figures issued for overseas visitor numbers to Ireland for the three-month period December 2011 to February 2012, Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said:”Despite the global economic landscape of recent months, which continues to present a challenging environment for travel, I am pleased to see growth of almost +3% for the three-month period December 2011 to February 2012. It is a positive start to 2012. Particularly welcome is the growth of +6.6% in visitor numbers from Great Britain, our largest and most important market which delivers about 45% of all our overseas visitors.”

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NEWS

Galway restaurant wins Bia award

Lording it up

Lord Henry Mountcharles (third from right) and his son Alex (third from left) welcomes Australian travel writers and Donna Campbell, Tourism Ireland Australia (left), to Slane Castle.

Keeping the home fires burning

Ard Bia, Galway has been awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for April.

Located in a stone built medieval customs house overlooking the Claddagh Basin, Ard Bia comprises of a Café, Restaurant and Wine Bar. Owned by Aoibheann MacNamara has been awarded Just ask winner for April because of their dedication to scouring ingredients locally.

Heineken launches new website Heineken Ireland is set to launch a brand new dedicated on-trade website, Heineken TradeZone. Customers can now access relevant company, brand, activation, and event information across the Heineken Ireland portfolio. Heineken’s customers will have exclusive access to the Grow Your Business section, where Heineken will share on-trade specific tips, from how to use digital marketing and social media effectively, to managing your portfolio of brands in outlet.

Heineken TradeZone will open its virtual doors to Heineken Ireland customers in midApril to coincide with the introduction of the complimentary Heineken Star Saturday visibility kit.

Heineken Star Saturday is a unique and special occasion where both the Heineken Cup and UEFA Champions League finals will take place on the same day - 19th May 2012.

For further information, contact your local Heineken sales team. www.heinekentradezone.ie 6

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Fáilte Ireland has been asked by Minister Varadkar to carry out a scoping study into the establishment of a Diaspora Centre in Ireland. As a first step in this process, a small group, chaired by Broadcaster John Bowman, has been set up to guide the study. “It is believed that a Diaspora of approximately 71m Irish people exists across the globe and finding an appropriate way to connect with these people would clearly bring significant benefits for Irish tourism,” said Aidan Pender, Director of Strategic Development, Fáilte Ireland.

Guinness World Record Success for Bunzl The world’s largest water mosaic, as confirmed by Guinness World Records, was recently created at the annual conference of Bunzl Catering & Hospitality Division at the O2 Arena in London. Over 300 employees and suppliers worked together, taking three hours to fill 81,000 white plastic cups with 17,000 litres of different coloured water. The theme of the 2012 conference, introduced by Matt Johnson, Managing Director, Bunzl Catering & Hospitality Division was: “Citius - Altius - Fortius” (Faster - Higher - Stronger), an Olympic motto first used in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.

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NEWS

Fruit of the summer

Cobh’s Titanic connections

Keelings, the 100% Irish family owned company and experts in fresh produce, presents the first Irish strawberry of 2012 which was grown on its own farms, to Irish Rugby team member Tommy Bowe.

Rachel Allen kicks off family friendly season

Journalists enjoyed the Titanic Trail Tour in Cobh with guide Michael Martin (fifth from left).

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Tourism Ireland is delighted to bring this group of journalists to Cobh and to Co Cork. As the last port-of-call for Titanic, the 100-year anniversary is an excellent opportunity for us to highlight Cobh to a wide audience of potential holidaymakers worldwide.”

LEC Commercial Catering Refrigeration goes platinum!

One of Ireland’s favourite celebrity chefs, Rachel Allen, has officially launched Fáilte Ireland’s Cool for Kids Fun for Family guide for Youghal, East Cork, and West Waterford at Perks Entertainment Centre, Youghal. The event was attended by a number of tourism operators from the designated family friendly zones that have joined the Fáilte Ireland project in order to make the area famous for family holidays.

French Connection for Ireland Minister for Finance Michael Noonan T.D. (fourth from right) met with tourism partners from around Ireland at MAP in Paris. MAP is a major travel show that attracts over 100,000 visitors each year - including influential tour operators, travel agents and travel writers, as well as many thousands of potential French holidaymakers looking for ideas and suggestions for their next short break or holiday destination.

The four-day event provided a valuable opportunity for the participating Irish tourism companies to showcase their tourism product.

Lec, the commercial refrigeration specialist, has re-launched its specialist catering refrigeration range with an 18-model line-up of under counter and freestanding refrigerators and freezers for use in commercial premises.

Designed and named to commemorate 70 years of Lec refrigeration, the new Platinum range offers a wider choice of energy efficient, environmentally friendly models that offer low running costs at an affordable price and from a trusted brand name.

For further information on the Lec range of refrigeration equipment visit www.lec-commercial.co.uk or contact (UK) 0044 844 248 4274.

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NEWS

The first resort

French connection

Pictured on the Tourism Ireland stand at Meedex, the meetings and events fair which took place last week at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France, are Donna Brogan, Dublin Convention Bureau; Catherine Bertin, Tourism Ireland; Eva Schmid, Killarney Hotels; Armando Borgatta, A Touch of Ireland; Áine Comerford, Citywest Hotel, Dublin; and Christophe de Patoul, Irish Horizons (destination management company).

Louise Waters, Spa Manager at Delphi Spa, Delphi Mountain Resort, accepting the Residential Spa of the Year Award from Gerard McCarthy, Dalesauna at the 2012 Professional Beauty Awards.

Writers Guild dish up food awards

Blooming success in Philadelphia Susan Cloyd, CIE Tours International; Jean McCluskey, Tourism Ireland; Paul Mockler, Shannon Development; Trevor Edwards, the Plantsman’s Garden Tours; Zoe Bratton, Causeway Coast and Glens; Úna Galligan and Hillarie McGuinness, both Tourism Ireland; Ellen McNulty, Lynott Tours; and Marie Booth, B&B Ireland, on the Tourism Ireland stand at the 2012 Philadelphia International Flower Show.

Ireland ‘Goes Dutch’ at Tourism Workshop in Amsterdam Pictured (l-r) at Tourism Ireland’s recent “Ireland workshop” in Amsterdam: Finola O’Mahony and Karen van der Horst, both from Tourism Ireland; Ambassador Mary Whelan; Helena Healy, B&B Ireland; and Jolande Lambers, OAD Reizen.

Pictured are the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards winners: Masterchef Ireland Winner Mary Carney (centre) with Patrick Rooney Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil, Brendan and Derek Allen Castlemine Farm Free Range Pork, Jack McCarthy, McCarthy’s of Kanturk; Carol Rooney, Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil, Con Traas, The Apple Farm, and David Tiernan, Glebe Brethan Cheese.

Castle Hotel scoops second TripAdvisor award The 4 * Castle Hotel in Macroom, Co. Cork beat off stiff competition and was voted best family hotel by Trip Advisor in its annual Travellers’ Family Hotel Choice Awards.

The Castle Hotel was ranked within the top 25 hotels in Ireland in the “family” hotel award category by TripAdvisor - in January it was ranked within the top 25 hotels in Ireland in the “bargain” hotel award category by TripAdvisor.

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Strand Hotel ties the knot The Limerick Strand has won a ‘Best overall Wedding Venue’ Award at 2012’s Real Wedding Oscars, beating off stiff competition from other top Irish hotel venues.

They added this accolade to their growing list of awards. The Limerick Strand Hotel has just launched Ireland’s first ‘Wedding Skype Service’ to facilitate the current levels of wedding enquiries and bookings coming from Australia in particular.

Ringing in the changes Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring has announced details of a new overseas joint tourism marketing campaign from a range of funding sources to boost tourism to the Western Region from Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy.

Funding of €1 million has been allocated through Fáilte Ireland, five local authorities (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Roscommon), Tourism Ireland, the Western Development Commission and Ireland West Airport Knock, towards the Western Region Tourism Marketing Programme.

Fáilte Ireland is providing €600,000 of the €1 million total. It is estimated that the overall total campaign spend could actually reach €1.4 million as additional value is also leveraged from key carrier and tour operator partners overseas.

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NEWS

Wild Atlantic Way

Fáilte Ireland has confirmed that local authorities along the western seaboard are happy to work with them this year on developing the Tourism Authority’s new touring route, stretching along the west coast of Ireland (from Donegal to Cork): the Wild Atlantic Way. Currently in its development phase, this new proposed driving route will provide a guided touring route (from Donegal to Cork) which will attract tourists to key destinations and attractions all along the west coast.

Cornstore Success at Sommeliers Graduation The Cornstore Restaurant Group was celebrating last month following the successful completion of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers Certificate Course by four of their staff; Mike Ryan (Executive Chef/Manager, Cornstore Cork), Chris O’Meara (Manager, Cornstore Limerick), Colette O’ Connor (Assistant Manager, Cornstore Cork) and Dulcie Griffin (Supervisor, Cornstore Limerick). The candidates joined over 25 other members at a recent graduation ceremony in Stephens Green Hibernian Club, Dublin. The course was run in partnership with the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

Kiwi surprise Popular New Zealand blogger Ms Paddy Patrick is presented with the Certificate of Irish Heritage by Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan T.D., at Ross Castle, Killarney.

Irish hockey team stay at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel

Pictured during a stay at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney, are members of the Irish Senior Men’s Hockey Team with Eithne Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Nicky Logue, General Manager, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Sean Dempsey, Head Chef, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel and Peter Jackson, Team Coach. The team are staying in the hotel while they complete in the qualifiers for the Olympics in London.

Tourist crime stats released ITAS, the Irish Tourist Assistance Service launched its annual statistics of tourist crime today at its annual meeting in the Mansion House Dublin. Last year the Irish Tourist Assistance Service received 394 incidents of tourist crime and traumatic incidents involving 690 tourists. The main crime against tourists was theft from person at 42%, followed by theft from cars at 53 cases. Dublin Garda Stations continue to refer the majority of the cases (80%) to ITAS followed by Garda Stations in counties Wicklow, Galway, Cork and Louth.

There were 16 cases of violent crimes against tourists referred in 2011. These ranged from aggravated theft to robbery with violence.

Crimes tended to occur when tourists were sightseeing, shopping and generally relaxing in restaurants and cafés. The majority of crimes referred to the Service occurred between 26pm in Dublin City Centre. The victims tended to be female and aged between 17-25yrs.

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NEWS

Mahoney directs proceedings at Shelbourne

The Shelbourne Hotel has announced the appointment of Alan Mahoney as Director of Operations at the hotel. Alan Mahoney has over 20 years’ comprehensive experience in the hotel and catering industry, both nationally and internationally, having worked in a wide range of properties, from small family-run businesses to large international hotel chains, at varied levels of grading.

John Clifton appointed GM of Ballsbridge Hotel

APPOINTMENTS

A Keane appointment

Jonathan Keane has been brought in to head the team at Lisloughrey Lodge, in Cong, Co. Mayo, Jonathon is looking forward to showcasing the fresh local produce of the area in his menus. Originally from Kylemore, Connemara, Jonathan was surrounded by inspiring landscape, excellent ingredients and the magic of the sea. He grew up eating the freshest fish and plucking his own potatoes before kitchen gardens were fashionable. He was always fascinated by the happenings of kitchens and by 16, he knew what he wanted to do in life. Achieving Head Chef status at just 22, Keane built up experience in the five star Adare Manor in Limerick, O’Grady’s in Clifden and Cashel House in Connemara.

Grainne VP at Aramark ARAMARK Ireland, a major integrated food, facilities and property management provider, has appointed Grainne Kelliher as Vice President of Food Services. In her new position, Grainne will oversee ARAMARK Ireland’s entire Food Services operations across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Limerick man takes over!

John Clifton has been appointed General Manager of the newly refurbished Ballsbridge Hotel (the former Jury’s Hotel). John has been working in the industry for over 30 years; with over 20 years experience in General Manager positions. He previously held positions in the US at the Doyle’s Stratford Inn in Connecticut, the Doyle’s Washington Courtyard and the Normandy Hotel, Washington. Prior to his appointment at Ballsbridge, he was GM of the Burlington Hotel from 2000 to 2011.

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Michael Magner, Managing Director at Fitzgerald’s Vienna Woods Hotel & Holiday Villas, was recently appointed Cork Branch Chairman of the Irish Hotels Federation.

Michael, originally from Newcastle West in Limerick, started out his hotel career at Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel & Spa Adare, before progressing to Cork, where along with the Fitzgerald family, he invested in what is now the new Fitzgerald’s Vienna Woods Hotel.

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NEWS EXTRA

€6 billion Irish foodservice industry unites New look representative body formed for the sector The Irish foodservice sector has joined forces to create a new industry body - The Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA) - formed with the aim of establishing and maintaining a collective agreement of standards and objectives for the overall foodservice suppliers industry in Ireland. Previously the Catering Equipment Association (CEA), IFSA was launched recently at the CEA AGM in Dublin. Also at the launch details of Catex 2013 were unveiled which will take place in the RDS, Dublin on 19th-21st Feb 2013. Enjoying the full support of the well organised existing foodservice representative bodies, the objective of IFSA is to promote, develop and enhance the position of all the foodservice suppliers in the industry as not just a lobby group, but as a group that can collectively drive the whole industry forward. Heralding the launch of IFSA, the CEA undertook a year-long strategic review of the industry and identified a clear opportunity for all suppliers to the foodservice industry to join together and not only represent themselves to the foodservice providers, but to proactively engage with the industry through forums, events and online trade & promotion. The result has seen the launch of the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance, delivering enterprise, trade, training, development and networking to all of the industry.

Julie Morrissey, Chairperson IFSA said, “IFSA is something that I truly believe in, I am passionate about its positive contribution that it can have on our industry. My vision for IFSA is very simply that same vision held collectively by the IFSA board and that is to be the representative body of choice for foodservice suppliers, which will demonstrate excellence in representation of our members, while being the central hub for networking, communications and sales events within the industry” Julie continued, “I firmly believe that the future of foodservice in Ireland is very bright.

Ireland is being recognised as a place to do smart business on the global economic stage. I believe we will continue to see the expansion of this smarter economy and with it the expansion of the corporate catering sector. After a difficult few years we are left with some really fantastic hotels, pubs and restaurants these will be the foodservice establishments that are leaner and keener and better than ever before, these are the business that will continue to boost Ireland’s reputation as a great place in which to travel, live and do business.”

CATEX, sponsored by Bunzl and Calor, has been the highlight of the foodservice calendar since 1965 and 2013 is set to be the best yet is expected to attract up to 9000 decision-makers and is a showcase for the newest and most innovative products and services and stage to host the most thrilling and hotly contested competitions within the industry.

Despite many closures in the far-reaching foodservice industry during the recession, foodservice remains a €6 Billion market in the industry equating to €1.8 Billion in operator purchasing prices. Industry trends also indicate that quick-service restaurants and ‘other commercial’ (such as on-the-go and casual dining) will drive the continued

revival of the market, together with a revival in hotels on the back of a more buoyant tourist trade. Innovation in the sector is seen as a crucial driving force to accelerate this revival.

In its role as both a showcase and a platform for the industry, CATEX has, over the years become the stage for a wide variety of National and International Foodservice skills competitions. At CATEX the finals of many culinary and other Foodservice Skills competitions are given the profile and wide audience that they deserve.

Mirroring the dynamic nature of the industry CATEX too is moving with the times.

Fresh for 2013 will be an all-new stand Layout, an Artisan Food Market, an On-Trade Kitchen concept, a focus on Energy and Waste Management and the Foodservice Heroes Stage where visitors can learn from the best in the Business Julie Morrissey, Chairperson IFSAsaid , “With IFSA at its core, CATEX 2013 will be our biggest and best show yet, offering a wider range of food and beverage suppliers and a strong focus on local and sustainable produce. The show promises to bring industry leaders together to showcase the best and brightest in the industry for foodservice equipment and ancillary products and services. It will also attract the most sought-after buyers and decision makers on the scene. AT CATEX 2013 you will see a renewed emphasis on promotion of the industry and a real facilitation for networking and developing to enhance and support all that is best in the Irish foodservice industry now and for the future.”

“ With IFSA at its core, CATEX 2013 will be our biggest and best show yet, offering a wider range of food and beverage suppliers and a strong focus on local and sustainable produce.

The objective of the IFSA is to promote, develop and enhance the position of all foodservice suppliers in the industry as, not just a lobby group, but as a group that can collectively drive the whole industry forward.

IFSA members will enjoy a comprehensive range of services from business support, an online marketplace and community and a full calendar of networking events not least CATEX 2013 next February. www.ifsa.eu.com

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VAT RATE

9% VAT rate

must be retained

Improving value for money and remaining competitive in a fragile market hit by weak consumer confidence is a very real challenge for Ireland’s hospitality businesses.

While 2011 saw the perceived value of eating out, drinking and the cost of living improve significantly, it is crucial that this trend continues into 2013, particularly considering the upcoming Gathering.

But to do so, the hospitality industry needs the Government’s continued support toboost competitiveness and employment in the tourism sector.

As part of its Jobs Initiative, the Government introduced a VAT reduction from 13.5% to 9% on certain tourism goods and services in July 2011, which was welcomed by the industry.

In March 2012, the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar, TD, welcomed indications that the special 12

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9% VAT rate was working, with CSO figures showing an increase of 6000 jobs in the accommodation and food service sector since the Jobs Initiative was launched in May 2011.

“The signs are still tentative. However, The assistance from tourism was identified as a key priority by Government has been a the Government when we first came to power one year ago, and it is much needed boost for the encouraging to see that Government sector by allowing hotels policies seem to be having a positive result.” and guesthouses retain and Commenting on the figures Minister create jobs in an otherwise Varadkar said: “I very much welcome the turbulent environment. increase in employment in the accommodation and food sector.

“The signs are still tentative. However, tourism was identified as a key priority by the Government when we first came to power one year ago, and it is encouraging to see that Government policies seem to be having a positive result.”

Although the reduction was factored in for 2013 in the Jobs Initiative, the Government has since cast doubts on whether the reduced VAT rate will be retained in 2013, causing major concern and uncertainty within the hospitality industry at home and abroad.

However, speaking at the RAI’s Annual Conference dinner at the Westin Hotel in

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VAT RATE Dublin, Minister Varadkar reiterated the importance of the tourism sector to the Irish economy and reaffirmed his commitment to the industry and his wish to retain the reduced VAT rate, provided that no major fiscal upheaval prevents the Government from doing so.

Surveys conducted by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) of their members showed that the potential increase in VAT in the forthcoming budget is an issue of serious concern for most businesses and both organisationshave called on the Government to retain the reduced rate.

According to the survey conducted by the RAI, 70% of restaurants said a reduction of the VAT rate in 2011 helped business, with 30% directly attributing the VAT reduction to hiring new staff.

Speaking at its Annual Conference in April, RAI Chief Executive, Adrian Cummins, encouraged Minister Varadkar to retain the rate, highlighting the important role it is playing in the According to IHF, 92% of hospitality and catering industry. hotel and guesthouse According to the survey conducted owners are concerned that by the RAI, 70% of restaurants said a the Government might reduction of the VAT rate in 2011 helped business, with 30% directly attributing increase the VAT rate next the VAT reduction to hiring new staff. year, citing the negative “There has been a lot done to help impact it would have on the the restaurant industry, which was hit viability of their businesses. hardest by the recession, but there is still much to be done in strengthening our industry”, said Mr Cummins. “However, it was worrying to see that the top 3 issues affecting our members were 1. The increase in VAT in the forthcoming budget; 2. The reintroduction of the Joint Labour Committees (JLCs); 3.The decline of consumer confidence.”

“

Paul Gallagher, outgoing President of the IHF, with President Michael D. Higgins at the recent IHF conference

According to IHF, 92% of hotel and guesthouse owners are concerned that the Government might increase the VAT rate next year, citing the negative impact it would have on the viability of their businesses.

At the IHF Annual Conference in March, Paul Gallagher, outgoing President of the IHF, urged Minister Varadkar to fight for the rate to be retained as a key competitive advantage for Ireland as a tourism destination.

“The Government has recognised tourism at the centre of its economic policy with the VAT reduction initiative and we’ve been very diligent in the passing it on”, said Mr Gallagher. “It would be a missed opportunity to see this revised rate peter out at the end of the year.

“The assistance from Government has been a much needed boost for the sector by allowing hotels and guesthouses retain and create jobs in an otherwise turbulent environment. While 2012 is undoubtedly going to be another challenging year, the retention of this rate would help to avoid any further retraction of the sector, and allow tourism to continue to be an indigenous driving force of the economy.”

While the upcoming Gathering in 2013, branded by the Government as the largest tourism event ever in Ireland, is planned to further boost Irish tourism, an increase of the VAT rate would significantly hamper the industry’s ability to offer attractive pricing and value for money on hospitality products and therefore impact the success of the initiative.

Such an increase would impact the domestic as well as overseas markets and the effectthis would have on British tourists, whose perception of value for money in Ireland has been poor in recent years, is particularly concerning considering the importance of the British market for Irish tourism.

According to the IHF, the uncertainty surrounding the VAT retention is already causing concern in key overseas markets and is becoming a barrier to securing sustained growth in visitor numbers as international tour operators book some 18 months in advance.

“At a time when the recovery in overseas visitor numbers is fragile and domestic consumer confidence is weak, the rate reduction has been a very positive driver of demand,” said Mr Gallagher.

“However, it has to be more than a short term stimulus, the real benefit is the medium term certainty it gives on pricing of hospitality products. This will be particularly important to support Government’s plans to attract an additional 325,000 visitors around next year’s Gathering.”

As hospitality businesses across the country continue to battle the financial crisis and Irish tourism gears up for the Gathering next year, the VAT rate will no doubt remain a hot topic.

While the Government is yet to confirm the retention of the reduced rate in 2013, the Irish hospitality industry will continue to demonstrate the positive impact of the reduction on the sector, in the hope that the Government will keep tourism at the centre of its economic policy, where it belongs.

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EMPLOYMENT COSTS

Labouring the point With one of the highest national minimum wage rates in Europe, Irish hospitality businesses are suffering under the burden of high payroll costs and at a time when many businesses are struggling to stay afloat, the planned reintroduction of the Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) is a thorn in the side of the Irish hospitality sector.

Due to the JLC wage setting system with Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) determining the minimum remuneration and working conditions for specific sectors, the hospitality industry has been paying higher wages as well as Sunday premium rates.

The government commissioned an independent review of the system in 2011, which concluded that the basic framework should be retained but that the system required “radical overhaul”.

However, as a result of the High Court ruling on the 7th of July 2011, that the legislation delegating powers concerning pay and conditions to JLCs was unconstitutional, all EROs ceased to have statutory effect from that date.

Following the High Court ruling, the hospitality industry once again called on the government to abolish the JLC system entirely and the IHF, RAI and IBEC all urged the government to accept the ruling.

But despite repeated calls from the industry to abolish the system, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, published the Industrial Relations (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2011 on the 22nd of December 2011, to implement reforms to the JLC and REA wage setting mechanisms, following the Government’s decision.

The reforms set out in the new bill include reducing the number of JLCs from 13 to 6, limiting the pay scales to one basic adult rate and two additional rates based on length of service and relevant skills, allowing companies in financial difficulty temporary exemption from EROs and REAs in special circumstances and removing the setting of Sunday premium rates from the scope of EROs. In setting rates, the JLCs will also have to take into account a series of factors such as the interests of employers and workers, competitiveness, employment and unemployment in the sector, the national minimum wage rate, and wages in 14

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comparable sectors, including such sectors in other relevant jurisdictions.

Publishing the legislation, Minister Bruton said: “From the beginning of this process I have been determined to strike a balance between protecting vulnerable workers and providing reforms that would make the systems more competitive and more flexible so as to allow for the creation of jobs in these sectors.”

Minister Bruton is also reforming the State’s employment rights and industrial relations structures by establishing a two-tier system with two statutorily independent bodies replacing the current five from the end of this year.

In the new structure, a single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission will take on the functions of the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment The government Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal commissioned an and the first instance functions of the independent review of the Employment Appeals Tribunal. system in 2011, which The Labour Court will become the single appeal body for all workplace concluded that the basic relations appeals including those framework should be currently heard by the EAT and the retained but that the reform is expected to provide more system required efficient workplace dispute resolution “radical overhaul”. mechanisms and significantly reduce waiting times.

But while the new workplace relations structure may allow complaints to be dealt

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EMPLOYMENT COSTS

with more efficiently, there are serious concerns within the hospitality industry over the Government’s decision to reintroduce the JLC system.

Although the aim of the reform, according to the Government, is to increase flexibility and help create jobs, its impact on hotel and restaurant owners is quite the opposite.

Surveys conducted by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) of their members showed the reintroduction of the JLCs as being a major issue of concern for hospitality businesses across Ireland.

According to the IHF survey, cost competitiveness is the single biggest barrier to job creation within the tourism industry and only 15% of hotels and guesthouses expect to increase staffing levels in 2012 with 89% of hoteliers stating that the reintroduction of the JLC system would hinder their ability to take on additional staff this year.

Speaking at the IHF’s annual conference in March, Paul Gallagher, outgoing President of the IHF, stated that the Government’s focus on restoring JLCs is out of touch with the realities confronting tourism businesses and undermines job creation in hotels and guesthouses.

“Job creation should not be all about the smart economy,” he said. “We have a Government that is pulling out all the stops to create jobs in the IT and innovation sector but their words and actions are not aligned when it comes to tourism - one of the country’s largest indigenous industries.

“On the one hand we have supportive tourism initiatives such as a reduced VAT rate while on the other hand we have additional costs imposed on tourism businesses in the form of JLCs. We need the Government to be more pro-business and allow tourism to act as an engine for growth and job creation.”

According to Mr Gallagher, if enacted, the proposed legislation would undermine efforts by the industry and the State to promote the tourism sector as a driver for economic growth.

“Hotels and guesthouses, many of which are operating at a loss, are being forced to pay a premium over and above the national minimum wage,” said Mr Gallagher.

“The proposed legislation makes no sense for our country and is neither appropriate nor fit for purpose in a modern competitive economy. It has lost its relevance with the introduction of the National Minimum Wage Act and other extensive employment legislation.”

For restaurants in Ireland, the higher wages as well as Sunday premium rates are a serious a barrier to employment and job creation, which in many cases prevent restaurants from opening on Sundays.

In a statement following last year’s High Court ruling RAI Chief Executive, Adrian Cummins, urged the Government to immediately abolish the JLCs and Sunday premium payments, referring to these as “a relic from another era”.

“The Joint Labour Committee system and Sunday Premium payments are an anti-business/anti-job creation regime where restaurants must pay an 8% premium above the minimum wage Monday to Saturday prior to the High Court decision and on Sundays restaurants must pay a 44% premium above the minimum wage,” he said.

“In addition, Sunday Premium Payments force our members to pay a 44% wage premium on what is traditionally a prime dining day out. In many cases these costs mean that it is simply not viable for restaurants to remain open.”

Speaking at the RAI’s Annual Conference in April, Mr Cummins said: “There has been a lot done to help the restaurant industry, which was hit hardest by the recession, but there is still much to be done in strengthening our industry.”

“However, it was worrying to see that the top 3 issues affecting our members were 1.

The increase in VAT in the forthcoming budget; 2. The reintroduction of the Joint Labour Committees (JLCs); 3. The decline of consumer confidence.”

“ Government should focus

on tangible actions to aid employers. We need an unrelenting focus on

regaining competitiveness and job creation.

Similar concerns were expressed by IBEC earlier this year at the Dáil Select Subcommittee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, where the group said that the reintroduction of the JLC system would “hamper job creation”.

IBEC Director Brendan McGinty said: “If Government is serious about tackling the unemployment crisis, it should not reintroduce a system which was ruled unconstitutional last year and which will increase already high costs in crucial domestic sectors, affecting businesses such as hotels, restaurants and retailers.

“Government should focus on tangible actions to aid employers. We need an unrelenting focus on regaining competitiveness and job creation. Resuscitating unnecessary legislation such as the JLC system will not help create a single job and will only hit the already hard-pressed domestic services sector,” he said.

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UK TOURISTS

Head for heights Vanessa Markey, Head of Tourism Ireland for Great Britain spoke recently about the Tourism Ireland Marketing plan for 2012 and gave her take on how things are looking.

Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland; Gretel O’Sullivan, Destination Killarney Group; Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar TD; and Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland, on the Tourism Ireland stand at the recent ‘Best of Britain & Ireland’ exhibition in Birmingham.

Tourism Ireland firmly believes that we have turned a corner since last year. With a similar budget to work with in 2012, the two things that continuously underpin what this plan is all about are differentiation and value.

The general consensus is that approximately half of the people coming back to Ireland as visitors are saying it’s good value, but there still remains enough people who feel it is not. Overall the accommodation and access to Ireland are well received in terms of pricing. She commented on the Hotel.com survey in which Ireland, after Portugal and Malta, is seen as the cheapest destination and she noted that we are indeed going in the right direction. “Dublin has made huge inroads in accurately reducing the prices with special offers and pre theatres on offer.”

The issue seems to lie in the small things, the cups of coffee, the food, and the added extras. Markey says: “Dublin has made huge inroads in accurately reducing the prices with special offers and pre 16

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“

theatres on offer. But beyond Dublin hasn’t fully reached the potential yet.” There is an opportunity to improve on these things and secure that repeat business.

The research shows that when people travel from GB to Ireland they understand what makes it different and they get it. Markey rightly points out: “If you know it’s different enough, then maybe you don’t The general consensus mind paying a little bit more for it. But if is that approximately half you don’t know what is on offer, then of the people coming you are naturally looking for a bargain.”

The experience on offer here can be back to Ireland as very simple from brown bread making, visitors are saying it’s cocktail making to local attractions and good value, but there still walks.

Markey speaks about remains enough people highlighting these aspects and bringing who feel it is not them to life in our marketing campaigns: “Walking here is a big business, its signposted, it’s easy to do. There are also specialist’s activities on offer, like camping and kayaking.” While it has been another tough year economically, people are still travelling. It is key that Ireland showcases our interesting offers to entice people to choose to come here.

Who we are targeting is obviously vital to what we do. It’s a busy market and there are a huge number of people who Tourism Ireland can look to target. We need to focus on attracting those who want to experience local culture and those interested in sight seeing. Markey says: “We have the right brand of Ireland as a place of characters.” The message is you don’t have to come to admire or to look at the scenery; you can simply become a local.

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UK TOURISTS

Helen Wycherley, Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery (second from left) with Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland; Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar TD; Jim Maher, Select Hotels of Ireland; and Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland, on the Tourism Ireland stand at the recent ‘Best of Britain & Ireland’ exhibition in Birmingham.

At the BoBI (Best of Britain and Ireland) travel trade exhibition that was held in Birmingham in March, Irish businesses got the opportunity to network with the coach and group travel sector. Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said he was extremely pleased: “to see so many Irish tourism enterprises taking advantage of the great opportunity to promote themselves.”

There are many ways in which TI are advertising. TV advertising is expensive but most successful. They also find radio to be a very cost effective method, as they can get a complicated message across.

There is a great They can talk about the ease of access and value for money, which are all feeling of goodwill questions on people’s minds. The other towards Ireland means TI are exploring is cinema and Irish people. advertising, which they are finding The column inch rewarding so far. Also PR is seen to be was 81 million crucial, in terms of using people to demonstrate the differentiation and for the value for money in Ireland. queen’s visit.

The social media is an area that TI has concentrated a lot of effort in and with a limited marketing budget, they have gained success: “We track the types of conversations that are happening on facebook as well as the number of fans and followers on twitter. It is a great way to provoke conversation and get debate going which is really important for us,” remarked Markey.

Also, this year TI will host ‘the gathering’. It is a romantic idea open to nearly 70 million people across the world who might be linked to Ireland in a number of ways, through family, friends or otherwise. It is getting a great reception so far.

With the Olympics fast approaching Markey commented: “There are signs that within London people will want to get out. People are actively planning to leave.”

Tourism Ireland is doing lots of advertising to encourage people to choose here as their escape from London.

There is a great feeling of goodwill towards Ireland and Irish people. The column inch was 81 million for the queen’s visit. Markey spoke about a survey they did with the Guardian newspaper online. Within the questionnaire they asked about the royal

“

visit to an audience of approx 13,000 readers. “1 in 5 of those people said they would go to Ireland as a result of the queen’s visit. It is just a snapshot but it gives you a sense of the goodwill that has been created. The legacy from the royal visit will continue for years.” There is no doubt that Ireland will continue to see the benefits of that visit for a long time. Markey also thinks that a visit from the everpopular couple William and Kate would be great for Ireland, especially for the younger generation.

With regard to Northern Ireland, there will be a huge amount of publicity and work on the security factor after a piece of research last year showed that safety and security came up as a worry when visiting Ireland.

Markey concluded by saying: “It’s a stretched target, with good will behind us and there have been signs of recovery and confidence coming back into the mix.”

Looking forward there is a need to concentrate on giving value added packages, as there is a strong expectation from the market in terms of value. The actual cost needs to change throughout the country, especially in more rural parts of Ireland. Also, there is the need to increase the awareness of the ease of access to Ireland and finally to show that Ireland is different and to be proud that offering.

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ACCESSIBILITY

Ready, willing and ABLE New Q Mark for accessibility in association with Fáilte Ireland Ireland Every year the Irish tourist industry spends hundreds of thousands of euro in a bid to get new visitors through their doors... but what if their new customers are not ABLE to actually ‘get through their doors’?

ABLE Tourism is the new Q Mark for accessibility created by Excellence Ireland Quality Association, the guardians of The Q Mark. Their aim is to become global trendsetters by turning Ireland into the first ABLE destination in the world.

Currently, 394,000 Irish people with a disability, see accessibility as being a real problem when it comes to taking their holiday in Ireland. Add that figure to the 467,900 Irish people who are over the age of 60, and the many Irish families who have small children and need good access for buggies and bikes, and you see that accessibility of holiday destinations here in Ireland could mean big business for Irish tourism in the future.

Speaking at the launch of ABLE Tourism yesterday, Irene Collins, Managing Director of EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality Association) said, “We are delighted to bring ABLE Tourism to the market place.

Our ultimate goal is to make Ireland the first ABLE destination in the world, with accessible holiday accommodation that guarantees the highest standards of quality and excellence. We believe that this will bring an entirely new tourist market worth millions of Euros, to our shores”.

The Q Mark for accessibility (ABLE) will be awarded to Hotels, Self Catering accommodation and Caravan and Camping complexes that have achieved the Q Mark standard in the key areas of ABLE Employees, ABLE Customers and ABLE Built Environment.

Tourists who log on to www.ABLEireland.ie to access ABLE destinations will be guaranteed to have the basic requirements that most of us take for

Irene Collins welcomes Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan

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Aaron O’Connor with Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan

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granted such as; accessible bedrooms, bathrooms, showers and kitchens. They will also benefit from telephones with induction cables and emergency accessible supports, such as vibrating pillows or personal alarms.

Mr Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, community, and Local Government praised the ABLE Tourism initiative and congratulated the first five recipients of the award; The Crown Plaza hotel in Our ultimate goal is to Blanchardstown, The Crown Plaza hotel make Ireland the first in Santry; ABLE destination in the Kilmore Cottages in Wexford, Blarney Caravan and Camping Park and The world, with accessible River Valley Holiday Park in County holiday accommodation Wicklow. that guarantees the Speaking on the possibility of highest standards of bringing new tourism to Ireland, the Minister said “ABLE Tourism is a prime quality and excellence. example of how local businesses can create new job opportunities within their communities.” He went on to say “Making Ireland more accessible to visitors is something to be very proud of and the concept of making Ireland the first ABLE tourist destination, demonstrates that Ireland still leads the way in innovative business solutions to the global marketplace.”

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ACCESSIBILITY

“The early adopters” - (left to right), Ashley Williams, River view holiday park, Jennifer McKenna, Crown Plaza Blanchardstown (on behalf of Crown Plaza Santry), Lisa Meehan, Crown Plaza Blanchardstown, Dr. Tony Lenehan, Fáilte Ireland, Con Quill, Blarney Caravan and Camping Park, Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, Irene Collins, EIQA & Helen Cousins, Kilmore Cottage

Asked why Failte Ireland had joined forces with The Q Mark to create ABLE Tourism Dr. Tony Lenehan said, “Failte Ireland is committed to giving strategic and practical support to develop and sustain Ireland as a high-quality and competitive tourist destination. We are delighted to endorse the concept of ABLE Tourism and its application and benefit to the hospitality and tourism sector.”

Dr. Tony Lenehan, Fáilte Ireland chatting to Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan

Historically, Ireland was a destination of choice for all American tourists travelling abroad. They came to our shores, put millions of tourist dollars into our economy, and when leaving, guaranteed us an on-going reputation as the land of a hundred thousand welcomes.

Given that there are now 54 million Americans with disabilities who have a disposable spending power of $220 billion; it makes sense to tell the world that Ireland is now ready, willing, and ABLE to accommodate them.

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SEAFOOD

The process and passion of fishing Aoife Carrigy reports on a day spent in Kilmore Quay and Bannow Bay in the company of five of tomorrow’s hottest young chefs

Eurotoque ‘Young Chef of the Year’, Kamil Dubanik, Knockranny House Hotel, Co Mayo (pictured front second from right) and his fellow four finalists, Aisling Gallagher, Ballynahinch Castle, Galway; Kyle Greer, No. 27 Talbot Street, Belfast; Micheal Harley, Rathmullan House, Co Donegal and David Magaeen, Restaurant Victoria, Belfast, enjoy learning all about locally caught seafood in Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford

As hard work goes, chefs do their fair share of it. Long days in the kitchen with early starts and late finishes. Laborious tasks and physically demanding duties performed in a high-pressure environment.

But it can be extremely rewarding too: building relationships with food producers who share that passion for excellence; producing meals that are relished and remembered; being recognised publicly for the results of all that hard work and creativity.

It was fitting then that the six finalists of the prestigious Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year competition 2011, including winner Kamil Dubanik from Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, Co. Mayo would be treated to a four-day Food Tourism Trip week organised by the competition sponsors, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and Fáilte Ireland.

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and an opportunity to experience the hotel and restaurant business from the dining table rather than across the kitchen’s pass, it also offered behind-the-scenes insight into the working life of all kinds of Irish food producers, from butchers, bakers and brewers to farmers, cheesemakers and ice-cream producers. One of the One of the highlights of highlights of the trip was a day the trip was a day dedicated to meeting some of the dedicated to meeting some people who work with Ireland’s worldof the people who work class bounty of fish and shellfish with with Ireland’s world-class the aim of better understanding bounty of fish and shellfish the processes and passion that drive with the aim of better the industry. understanding the The day began in beautiful Bannow Bay, in the company of Tommy Hickey processes and passion that of Hook Head Shellfish who talked the drive the industry. chefs through the often back-breaking work involved in oyster production on his aquaculture farm. Hook Head Shellfish are one of several oyster growers based in this tidal estuary between Hook Head and Carnsore Point, where oysters which were born in French hatcheries and grew up in neighbouring bays at Dungarvan and Woodstown call their final home before hitting the Parisian markets. The bay’s particular type of algae is ideal for putting meat on the little molluscs. How the aqua-farmers work the bags in which the

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SEAFOOD

Eurotoque ‘Young Chef of the Year’, Kamil Dubanik, Knockranny House Hotel, Co Mayo and two of his fellow finalists, listening intently to BIM’s Regional Officer, John Hickey, and local fishermen Paddy Barry and Sean Furlong, as John explains how a female lobster that is ready to spawn can be protected under the ‘v-notching’ conservation scheme.

oysters grow is crucial too in helping to shape the all-important deep cup of the gigas or Pacific oyster. Still tucked up in those bags, the oysters finally travel back to France where they are processed and sold on as ‘Speciale’ oysters, one of France’s most sought after classifications.

Next stop on the trip was to Kilmore Quay to visit the processing depot of Sofrimar Seafood - another exporter of Irish shellfish, albeit on a very different scale. It provided quite the sensory stimulation. In one hall, the din of thousands of seashells clacking adds an impressive soundscape to the sight of some hundred hard-working women processing scallops with skillful twists of knives. Step into one side room to be wooed by the sweet smell of fresh razor clams and shelled scallops, step into another containing thousands of frozen prawns stored at -15ºC to be greeted by the sight of light snow falling. The chefs were happy to return outside to the sunshine on one of the hottest days of the year, with a newfound appreciation for the people who process our seafood.

Eurotoque ‘Young Chef of the Year’, Kamil Dubanik, Knockranny House Hotel, Co Mayo and his fellow four finalists, Aisling Gallagher, Ballynahinch Castle, Galway; Kyle Greer, No. 27 Talbot Street, Belfast; Micheal Harley, Rathmullan House, Co Donegal and David Magaeen, Restaurant Victoria, Belfast, pictured with a selection of locally caught seafood with Michael Flaherty of Saltees Fish.

Before lunch we stopped in to see the HQ of Saltees Seafood Ltd, a family-run seafood wholesalers whose delivery trucks branded with the clear message’Eat More Fish’ can be seen spinning around the country to Cork and Dublin and even as far as Killybegs. A family of six brothers, the O’Flahertys have carefully developed their business over 25 years so that they now control every aspect of the process from catching the fish to marketing, selling and distributing it. Two thirds of their catch is exported, primarily to France and Spain, including their entire catch of certain species such as megrim and witches (or white sole). Both are examples of plentiful Irish fish for which there is a high demand in the Spanish fish markets

but little current demand amongst consumers here.

Michael heads up the marketing side of the business, but talked the chefs through the tough working conditions of the fishermen. The crew working out at sea on the company’s beam trawlers will work non-stop for several days at a time. They break three or four times in 24 hours to catch an hour or two’s sleep as the nets fill before several more hours of hauling and sorting. With the cost of fuel having doubled since 2008, costs such as labour have to be squeezed to the absolute minimum without compromising the allimportant safety of the crew. It’s a fine balancing act.

Over lunch at the Crazy Crab, BIM Seafood Circle’s Newcomer of the Year 2012, John Hickey from BIM explained the background to the conservation programme in place to protect local lobster stocks. After a fishy feast of local crab and prawns, smoked Union Hall mackerel and

“ Altogether, the day offered the young chefs a memorable insight into the hard work and high standards that go into getting seafood into their kitchens.

freshly landed lemon sole, the chefs had a chance to try their hand at the v-notching process as demonstrated down at the quay by inshore fishermen, Paddy Barry and Sean Furlong. The minimum landing size for lobsters is a 87mm ‘carapace’, which is the main body between the claws and tail.

Besides returning any undersized lobsters to the water, a selection of female lobsters are marked as protected with this v-notch in their tail and sent back out into the waters to reproduce.

Altogether, the day offered the young chefs a memorable insight into the hard work and high standards that go into getting seafood into their kitchens. Integral to the Euro-toques Young Chef competition itself is an emphasis on training and development, and the role of the mentor being central to the process. The involvement of BIM and Failte Ireland as sponsors reflects their recognition of the importance of chefs in building Ireland’s national and international food reputation, the pivotal role that ‘local food’ plays in this and, above all, their commitment to education and development in this sector.

The memories of that day in the sunny South East will prove valuable in building what are shaping up to be five very promising cheffing careers.

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REGULATIONS

The cost of doing business The regulatory burden - what it means for you

A new research paper has been published

by Fáilte Ireland highlighting just how the regulatory burden (i.e. those costs associated with state regulation and laws) is affecting the tourism industry. The paper was recently presented to the Government’s High Level Group on Business Regulation to inform its regulatory reform process and to highlight those issues most relevant to tourism businesses.

Based on 20 in-depth case studies from the tourism sector, the research paper illustrates how tourism businesses have addressed all cost headings within their control aggressively. However, certain state costs remain outside of their control and these costs are not showing anywhere near the same degree of reduction. small businesses. It is overwhelmingly populated by restaurants, guest-houses, hotels, bars, visitor attractions, coach operators, heritage centres, etc. The burden of regulation is proportionately greater on SMEs than on large enterprises which tend to have substantial administrative systems and personnel. Very few are of sufficient scale to justify a range of inhouse specialist functions.

Tourism businesses, like many others, have shed labour, cut wages, cut overheads where they can, negotiated fees down, sought greater efficiencies and generally addressed all cost headings within their control aggressively.

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However, certain state originating costs remain outside of their control and these costs are not showing the same degree of downward movement. This has caused tourism representative groups and individual businesses to become increasing vocal on what they call “regulatory burden”. The industry uses this term to cover a range of costs originating from the state. Their concern is that such state imposed costs are higher than they need to be. Plus, their concerns are not restricted to just regulations. For example, commercial rates - a tax - is cited as the industry’s biggest “regulatory burden”.

The shortlist of issues addressed by Fáilte Ireland’s research paper was agreed in consultation with industry representative groups and includes: • Commercial rates • Water charges • Table and chairs licensing.

• Inconsistent enforcement • Alcohol licensing • Fats, oils & grease disposal licensing • Employment regulation orders/the JLC system • The wide range of oversight and inspection bodies • The application of EU directives None of the participants in the study (which surveyed five hotels and two hotel chains; as well as four restaurants) wanted to see regulation scrapped entirely, and all could see the benefits of most regulation, either to themselves or to their customer. However, they were conscious that things could be done better.

Some highlights from the paper’s findings include: • Future regulations should include a business impact assessment • Acceptance of third-party reports could reduce (and potentially eliminate) the need for a number of regular inspections by public sector agencies. Spot checks would remain • There should be consistency between regulations, and consideration should be given to having one overall inspectorate instead of separate labour, health and safety, fire, and building and tourism inspectors • The commercial rates revaluation process is benefiting hotels and it needs to be speeded up.

• The current alcohol legislation is unduly complex and procedurally costly for operators, especially in the restaurant sector. The process for renewal of licences could be simplified and moved from a court/legal basis to a more administrative basis • The introduction of a self-monitoring scheme for the disposal of fats, oils and grease, subject to spot checks, could save money and relieve the regulatory burden on those serving food Fáilte Ireland, following the presentation of this paper to the Business Regulation group, is now also liaising with various government departments and agencies to inform them of the difficulties some regulations are imposing of tourism businesses and advocating for changes where possible.

Caeman Wall, Fáilte Ireland’s new Head of Research and Insights, emphasises: “There is a happy balance to be achieved through regulation which can achieve the same outcomes, or better, but at lower cost to the industry. There are some easy places to start such as, for example, the introduction of a fats, oils and grease disposal self-monitoring scheme, subject to spot checks, so as to save money and relieve the regulatory burden in this area.

“We are also seeking to consult with local authorities on tables and chairs licenses. The uptake of such licenses would be greater if securing approval was more straightforward and cheaper. Businesses would be more inclined to take these licenses if the costs involved were proportionate to the incremental revenue gain”.

“Interestingly, our research shows some areas where reform is providing a dramatic difference. The commercial rates revaluation process currently underway is benefiting hotels but it needs to be speeded up. Where rate revisions have taken place, the commercial rates liability of hotels fell by 30% or more. However, this is a slow process and thus far only three of the 88 rating authorities have completed the process and we would urge speedier progress.”

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INITIATIVE

New ambassadors to lure lucrative meetings to Ireland Conferences worth €20.5m already secured for Ireland this year alone with a potential further €93m being pursued

Fáilte Ireland recently unveiled its new targeted advertising campaign to recruit new “conference ambassadors” to help Ireland secure more international conferences to its shores.

The campaign, centring on a number of current “Ambassadors” from various work backgrounds, urges professionals to consider whether there is a potential major conference in their sphere to be invited here. If so, those with potential leads are invited to become “Conference Ambassadors” and work with Fáilte Ireland to get their conference over here.

Welcoming the campaign, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring TD said: “The Government is sending out a clear signal that Ireland is open for business.

This new drive for conference ambassadors is part of the same initiative to attract more delegates and more business into Ireland. We all have a part to play in Ireland’s recovery and I would urge everyone with a potential lead or possible prospect to get on board and become a conference ambassador. I’d also like to thank the ambassadors who have already got involved to promote Ireland as a conference destination.”

The campaign coincides with the timely confirmation that Dublin has secured the hosting of the International Federation of Journalists Conference in 2013 which will attract almost 300 delegates from across the world and a potential economic impact of almost half a million Euro for the local economy.

Welcoming this news Dan Flinter, Chairman of Fáilte Ireland’s Business Tourism Forum said, “It is encouraging the see the investment and support that has been afforded to such a worthwhile sector within Irish tourism. Conferences, such as the International Federation of Journalists, bring much needed delegates and revenue to this country.

“Ireland has always been a good fit for business tourism across all sectors conferencing, incentive and corporate meetings. The Ireland Inc approach to securing international conferences continues to be a great success and Fáilte Ireland, the convention bureaux and the Irish trade, are working together to win even more conference business during 2012 and beyond.”

Through the Conference Ambassador Programme, Fáilte Ireland encourages and supports both Irish and international businesses and associations to host their international meetings, conferences and incentive trips here in Ireland. As part of this programme, a wide range of professional supports are made available to the ambassadors, including financial and practical assistance.

Highlighting the benefits of such a programme, Keith McCormack Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Business Tourism said, “This scheme is bringing real results - delivering business and benefits to this country’s economic recovery. Since the start of the programme in 2009, our dedicated research team has identified and recruited 314 ‘conference ambassadors’ with the potential to bring in conferences worth millions

to the Irish economy. So far, our ambassadors have already netted conferences worth €20m this year.

“The work is on-going and currently we are financially supporting work towards winning a further 112 conferences which, if realised, will provide a potential €93m boost to the Irish economy”.

The national campaign launched today utilises four current conference ambassador profiles and will be running for the next few weeks in targeted newspapers and professional publications. The profiled ambassadors include • Annette Kennedy - Director of Professional Development with the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO).

The INMO are bidding for the Congress of the International Council of Nurses in 2017.

If the conference is won for Ireland, it will bring 6,500 international delegates, with a potential value of €9.1m to the Irish economy.

• Prof Fergal O’Brien and Dr. Danny Kelly are bidding for the World Biomechanical Engineering Congress in 2018. If the conference is won for Ireland, it will bring 3,000+ international delegates, with a potential value of €4.2m to the Irish economy.

• Ken McManus - International Director for Irish Air Line Pilots Association. The Irish Air Line Pilots Association is hosting the International Federation of Airlines Pilots’ Associations in 2013. They are expecting 700 International delegates, with a potential value of €1m to the Irish economy.

• Kitty Gallagher - President of the Association of Irish Floral Artists. The association is hosting World Floral Artists Conference and Exhibition, Dublin, RDS in 2014. They are expecting 5,000 international attendees, with a potential value of €7m to the Irish economy.

Fáilte Ireland will be investing €3.7 million in the business tourism sector this year including funding for a wide range of supports available to potential conference ambassadors.

The national tourism development authority unveiled its business tourism plans for the year ahead at its annual “Industry Briefing Day” held in the Burlington Hotel where they also provided members of the conference industry with an update on its work to encourage large multinational companies to hold their global gatherings in Ireland in 2013.

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SURVEY

Tourism Confidence Mood upbeat as 2011 survey also shows record satisfaction levels from overseas visitors Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed the latest Fáilte Ireland research indicating that tourism industry sentiment is growing steadily.

Minister Varadkar was speaking in advance of his address to Meitheal 2012, Ireland’s largest tourism trade fair, which was held recently in the RDS Dublin.

Top-line results from the latest Fáilte Ireland Tourism Barometer, due to be published in the coming weeks, show that over half of tourism businesses (54%) stated that their performance was up this year with a further 21% saying that they were at least holding steady. This compares with corresponding figures of 8% and 9% respectively as recently as 2009.

Looking to the year ahead, an encouraging three in five businesses (59%) expect an increase in their prospects during 2012 with a further one in five (22%) expecting to at least equal this year’s performance. The corresponding figures for 2009 were 7% and 10%.

“However, as tourism operators know too well, we have a long way to go to recover the heyday of four years ago. As planning for next year begins at our Meitheal tourism trade fair, I am very encouraged to see that three out of five tourists are very satisfied with their experience of Ireland, according to the Fáilte Ireland Overseas Visitor Attitudes Survey.”

Minister Varadkar said, “These indications are certainly encouraging and suggest that the tourism sector is growing more optimistic about its future prospects.

This survey bodes well for our efforts to attract more visitors and reflects the amount of effort both Government and industry have put into restoring competitiveness in the sector.

“However, as tourism operators know too well, we have a long way to go to recover 24

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Minister Varadkar and Shaun Quinn at the Meitheal evening in the Burlington Hotel

the heyday of four years ago. As planning for next year begins at our Meitheal tourism trade fair, I am very encouraged to see that three out of five tourists are very satisfied with their experience of Ireland, according to the Fáilte Ireland Overseas Visitor Attitudes Survey.”

This growing confidence in the sector provided a backdrop to Meitheal 2012, the annual tourism trade fair, where 310 key international buyers from over 20 countries were in attendance. This event offers these overseas buyers the chance to meet with Irish businesses through 17,000 scheduled one to one business opportunities (in addition to a host of more informal networking opportunities) where pitches, offers and deals are made for business in 2013.

As Irish businesses sell their wares in the RDS, the Fáilte Ireland Visitor Attitudes Survey for 2011 underscores what an attractive destination Ireland is for overseas visitors.

Millward Brown Lansdowne, on behalf of Fáilte Ireland, interviewed 1,510 departing overseas holidaymakers between May and October 2011. An amazing 99% of overseas holidaymakers told them that their Irish holiday had matched or exceeded their expectations with more than a third (35%) saying that their holiday had actually exceeded their expectations. American visitors were particularly impressed with just over half (51%) saying that their Irish holiday was more than they expected.

Fáilte Ireland CEO, Shaun Quinn, welcomed these satisfaction levels and cautioned, “As we trade out of recession, complacency is not an option. I would urge individual tourism businesses to maintain the improved value for money levels they are now providing and we, in Fáilte Ireland, will continue to work closely with them to ensure that we continue to remain competitive and attractive to overseas visitors.”

Visitors (for the first time in these surveys) were also asked to place Ireland as a destination to recommend on a scale of 0-10 - where 0 is ‘definitely would not recommend an Irish holiday’ and 10 is ‘definitely would recommend a holiday in Ireland’. Encouragingly 67% of overseas holidaymakers gave Ireland top scores of 9 or 10. Indeed, North American and German holidaymakers were even more enthusiastic, with more than seven out of ten (73% and 71% respectively) endorsing a holiday in Ireland with top scores of 9 or 10.

When it comes to considering Ireland for a holiday, overseas holidaymakers ranked Irish people (91%), the beauty of Ireland’s scenery and the range of natural attractions (85% each) as very important factors. Other important factors included a perception of Ireland as safe and secure destination (90%) and our interesting history and culture (83%).

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TOURISM

International launches of The Gathering 2013 ‘The Gathering Ireland 2013’ was launched around the world on St Patrick’s Day. This will be our biggest ever tourism initiative and will consist of a year-long programme of festivals, events and other gatherings in every region of the country, providing an opportunity for those with ancestral links and an affinity for Ireland to play a part in - and benefit from our economic recovery. It will be targeted at people living abroad with a connection to Ireland, whether through birth, ancestry, family connections, friendships, business or education, as well as at those who simply have a fondness for Ireland.

Below: Shane Clarke and Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland; Finance Minister Michael Noonan; Ambassador Paul Kavanagh; and Billy Condon, Tourism Ireland, at the launch of ‘The Gathering 2013’ at the Irish Embassy in Paris.

Above: Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar; Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland; and Ambassador Bobby McDonagh, at the launch of ‘The Gathering 2013’ in London, at the St Patrick’s Festival Ball.

Tourism Blitz in Atlanta and Tampa Tourism Ireland’s latest ‘Jump into Ireland’ sales blitz in the US took in the cities of Atlanta (Georgia) and Tampa (Florida). The ‘Jump’ sales blitzes are targeting about 1,500 travel agents in nine key cities in the all-important American market throughout 2012.

The events in Atlanta and Tampa included interactive presentations with a ‘virtual tour’ of Ireland, as well as networking with over 100 influential travel agents and about 90 key media contacts. Similar events will take place in Boston and Toronto at the end of April; and in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver in October.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s vice president of marketing in the United States, said: “North America is a critically important market for tourism to the island of Ireland, second only to GB in terms of visitor numbers. Visitors from North America stay longer, spend more than the average visitor and tour more extensively around the island. Our ‘Jump into Ireland’ events, where we talk directly to travel agents and influential media contacts and tell them what makes the island of Ireland such a fantastic vacation destination, are an excellent opportunity to help grow business further from North America in 2012 and beyond.”

Tourism representatives from Ireland at the ‘Jump into Ireland’ event in Tampa, Florida, with Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland (second from right).

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Above: Tim Harrowell, Emirates; Orla Saul, Tourism Ireland; and Justice Minister Alan Shatter, at the launch of ‘The Gathering 2013’ in Sydney.

Flying high with new Stockholm route

Top Swedish tour operators and journalists flew to Dublin at the end of March on the inaugural Aer Lingus flight from Stockholm.

The new flight will operate four times a week, providing a welcome boost for both leisure and business tourism from Sweden to Ireland. The Swedish visitors are pictured at the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin with Michael Bourke, Tourism Ireland (third from right); Stefan Holmstrom, representing Aer Lingus in Sweden (fourth from right); Gillian Culhane, Aer Lingus (second from left); and Antoinette Reilly, Fáilte Ireland (third from left).

Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland’s manager for Northern Europe, said: “We look forward to working closely with Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport to maximise the promotion of this new route and to help drive demand for the flight. As an island destination, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with air and sea carriers, airports and other tourism interests to drive demand for this service, and all other services to Ireland, and to help maintain our vital network of routes and services.”

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Taoiseach launches visa waiver extension in China

Targeting coach tour business in GB

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons with the six Chinese travel agents who have introduced Ireland holiday packages for individual travellers for the first time.

During his recent visit to China, Taoiseach Enda Kenny launched a major development to help grow tourism business from China: the extension, until October 2016, of the visa waiver scheme for Chinese tourists who wish to visit Ireland. The Taoiseach made the announcement at an event in Beijing attended by 150 leading Chinese travel trade, media and airline representatives organised by Tourism Ireland as part of the recent trade mission.

The visa waiver scheme, introduced by the Government last year on a trial basis, encourages visitors from emerging markets, like China, to come to Ireland when they are visiting the UK, without the hassle or cost of applying for a separate visa. Tourism Ireland in China reported an immediate and significant increase in interest in Ireland - with nine leading Chinese tour operators deciding to include Ireland in their 2012 programmes for the first time ever as a result of the initiative.

The Taoiseach also signalled Ireland’s warm welcome for Chinese visitors - with the introduction of a short-stay visa for individual travellers. In the past, Chinese people have travelled to Ireland as part of a tour group. However, market intelligence shows that, increasingly, independent travel is a strong personal statement and is widely regarded in China as very fashionable.

Seventy-two per cent of wealthy Chinese people are now opting for an individual, high end travel experience and Tourism Ireland will target this demographic by highlighting the new short-stay visa. Already, six online travel agents in China are offering Ireland holiday packages for individual travellers for the first time ever which include the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry and Galway.

Tourism Ireland Board meets in Cork The River Lee Hotel in Cork was the venue for the recent board meeting of Tourism Ireland. The board members took the opportunity when they were in the city to meet with local tourism operators, to discuss the forthcoming season and Brian Ambrose, chairman of Tourism Ireland; Cllr the extensive promotional Tony Fitzgerald, deputy Lord Mayor of Cork; programme which Tourism Gillen Joyce, Titanic Experience Cobh; and Ireland is rolling out across Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s head of GB, before the recent Tourism Ireland board meeting the globe right now. After in Cork. the meeting, the board members visited Cobh - taking in the Titanic Trail, Titanic Experience Cobh, and Fota House.

Brenda Byrne, Holiday Ireland Hotels; Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland chief executive; Minister Leo Varadkar; Liz Fahy, Holiday Ireland Hotels; and Chris Plummer, Leger Holidays (British tour operator), at the ‘Best of Britain & Ireland’.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar met with Irish hoteliers and tourism operators at the ‘Best of Britain and Ireland’ (BOBI) travel trade exhibition, which took place recently in Birmingham. BOBI is the premier, annual event for the travel trade in Britain, attracting over 2,000 influential coach and group tour operators; it provided a valuable opportunity for the participating Irish companies to network and do business with decisionmakers in the important coach and group travel sector.

Minister Varadkar said: “I was very pleased to see so many Irish tourism enterprises taking advantage of the great opportunity to promote themselves at the ‘Best of Britain and Ireland’ exhibition, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland. As we push to sustain our recent recovery in the British market, which is so vital to our tourist industry, it is important that the industry gets out there and actively engages with potential customers, particularly the overseas trade.”

Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland’s chief executive, said: “Great Britain is a priority market for Tourism Ireland; our largest and most important tourism market, it accounts for about 45% of all our overseas visitors and 35% of overseas tourism revenue. A key element of our promotions involves enthusing the travel trade in Great Britain - online and traditional travel agents and tour operators - about the island of Ireland, ensuring they promote Ireland to their customers and advise them about the distinctiveness of a holiday here.”

French travel writers check out Cobh’s Titanic connections A group of leading French travel writers visited Cobh recently. With the 1 0 0 - y e a r anniversary of the maiden voyage of Titanic in April, Tourism Ireland is highlighting Cobh in its promotions around the world, reminding people about the famous ship’s association with the town as its last port-of-call. The journalists, who sailed from Roscoff with Brittany Ferries, enjoyed the Titanic Trail Tour with historian Michael Martin; the Queenstown Story at Cobh Heritage Centre; and visited the Titanic Experience Cobh in the original White Star Line building. They are pictured with Anne Zemmour, Tourism Ireland France (second from left).

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ONLINE MARKETING

The Value of Direct Traffic from Referrals When marketing your hotel online your main goal should be to drive as much qualified traffic and revenue through your own website as possible, where cost of acquisition (CA) is lowest. One way to improve direct traffic is through the use of referral or direct links from high-volume travel-related sites such as Kayak, Trivago, Google Hotel Finder, Tripadvisor and others.

Tripadvisor is the giant of the travel industry, with over 60 million reviews online and tens of millions of visitors monthly. We’ll focus on two flavours of Tripadvisor link in this article and analyse their performance.

Tripadvisor Business Listing What’s it all about?

Tripadvisor launched their Business Listing service in January 2010 as a way for hotels to leverage their listing to encourage direct contact between the customer and the hotel. Having your hotel’s contact details present will help increase your chances of a direct booking which could otherwise be gained by an Online Travel Agent (OTA).

With a Tripadvisor Business Listing: 1. Your contact details are displayed Your hotel’s phone number, website link and email details are displayed under your hotel’s name on your Tripadvisor listing.

2. You can create special offers With the business listing you can create special offers for your hotel which are then displayed throughout the Tripadvisor website.

3. Your mobile listing is enhanced When you upgrade to a business listing, visitors viewing your listing on a mobile device will be able to call your hotel and visit your hotel’s website directly.

Since it relates directly to customers who are interested in more information outside of Tripadvisor itself, success with this service is quite dependent on your visibility and ranking on Tripadvisor.

The Cost The service can be managed directly by hotels. Tripadvisor will charge a yearly fee to upgrade to the Business Listing. The annual cost varies depending on the number of rooms your property has, anything from €300 to €9000. The typical cost for a hotel in Ireland of 51-100 rooms is €1550 per annum. It is worth noting that you can you can cancel your subscription at any time and get your money back for the remainder of your subscription. Reporting of results is via tracking in Google Analytics.

The fees to Tripadvisor, any other management fees, as well as any booking engine cost on your own website, all need to be factored in to derive your total CA for the bookings received. Looking at the true 32

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CA is the only way to ensure you get value. Even if the CA works out similar to that from an OTA, it is still very much worth it to you. Costs aside, direct bookings are an enhancement of your own brand, give you the opportunity to gain the customer’s full contact details for future marketing, increase the possibility of direct return business at a lower CA, and hence improve customer lifetime value. These latter factors are hard to quantify in a CA model.

Figure 1. Tripadvisor listing showing the Business Listing details and the Tripadvisor Direct with Bookassist hotel website link.

So is it worth it?

In Figure 2 we show two example Dublin hotels from our data to illustrate how Tripadvisor Business Listing may or may not work for you. Within an acceptable margin, the results are fairly typical of what we are seeing in the hotel clients we are tracking in Ireland and in our markets abroad.

• Rank: Hotel A is ranked by Tripadvisor in the top 10% for their area while Hotel B is outside the top 10% but ranks in the top 30%.

• Visits: In a one month period, Hotel A tracked 529 visits resulting from the Tripadvisor Business Listing while Hotel B tracked 56.

• Return on Investment: Hotel A calculated a return on investment (ROI) of 44 (for every one euro spent on the business listing 44 was gained in booking revenue) while Hotel B found an ROI of 2.

• Conversion: Conversion, the percentage of visitors arising from the Business Listing who actually booked, was similar for each hotel and typically higher than the typical referral link conversion for that hotel’s website. Conversion is of course also dependent on the hotel website’s rate and availability versus the OTAs and in the case of these two example hotels availability was not a limiting factor and rate parity was maintained.

There are several factors which could explain the large difference in results between the hotels but the single most significant reason is simply that Hotel A has a much higher Tripadvisor ranking than Hotel B. It therefore gets a lot more exposure on the Tripadvisor website. We consistently see this in our data regardless of the style or size of the hotel - just like in Google search results, your rank counts.

Our Advice The Business Listing is about generating more direct traffic from customers in an investigative stage of the purchasing process, and its success is clearly linked to your rank. If you are considering using the Tripadvisor Business Listing, then our advice is that it is only likely to be beneficial in terms of ROI and ultimately CA if your hotel is already ranked in the top 15% for your area, assuming that Tripadvisor listings for your area extend over a page or more (some “areas” in Ireland as defined

by Tripadvisor are quite small, where any rank can get your hotel on the first page of results!).

If your ranking is low, it is best to concentrate on improving your positioning first by encouraging satisfied guests to leave reviews and by interacting frequently with your listing to ensure customer comments are answered promptly.

Tripadvisor Direct What’s it all about?

Bookassist launched a partnership with Tripadvisor in January 2012 to allow hotels to show real-time pricing direct from their website hotel on Tripadvisor as part of their listing. Previously, this had been limited to OTA pricing only.

Because of the live price checking, the new TripAdvisor Direct with Bookassist can represent a stronger call to action than the Business Listing and can drive even more direct traffic to your website and generate new direct business. However, pricing

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Figure 2. Data over a one-month period from the Business Listing service for selected Irish hotels

Figure 3. Data over a one-month period from the Tripadvisor Direct with Bookassist service for selected Irish hotels

from Tripadvisor is on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis and can be expensive, therefore the entire CA needs to be analysed to ensure value for your hotel.

When a visitor views your hotel profile on TripAdvisor, a clickable list of providers is shown underneath the “Show Prices” button. Bookassist has integrated with TripAdvisor to add your hotel website as one of these providers.

When a user selects a check-in date and clicks the Show Prices button, Tripadvisor opens three new windows for the top three bidders. To ensure your hotel website is featured, you must bid for one of those three positions, making the ongoing cost unpredictable.

Since it is related directly to customers who are looking at price, success with this service is more related to your competitive pricing than your rank.

The Cost The service is not managed directly by the hotel but is managed by partner companies such as Bookassist. There is a once-off setup fee, and thereafter a CPC model. Unfortunately there is limited control of spend, and rather than setting a budget for a month in advance, you are simply billed at the end of the month.

Reporting of results is via tracking in Google Analytics.

The CPC fees, as well as any booking engine cost on your own website, all need to be factored in to your total CA for the bookings received to ensure you get value.

As with the Business Listing, even if the CA works nominally out similar to that from an OTA, it is still very much worth it to you for the same reasons.

So is it worth it?

In figure 3 we show the first 5 hotels that availed of the Tripadvisor Direct with Bookassist programme in Ireland, and their results for the first month of operation.

Since not all are in the same area, their rankings are not comparable so we consider the success or otherwise of the click model itself. It is early days for analysis of results but the data below shows some interesting facets.

These 5 Irish hotels are ordered according to revenue generated by the link-through.

• Clicks: Consumer interest in the direct link is healthy, showing that hundreds of

clicks are achievable per month. Remember that for each click, your hotel’s website is being directly displayed to a customer. giving you an opportunity to generate attraction with a well-presented website and a clear strong value message. Clearly you need to have some sort of rank in your area to be capable of generating clicks. The values we see are significantly lower than the click-through seen for the Business Listing of a high-ranked hotel however, on average. In Ireland, expect clicks in the order of 100 to 200.

• Conversion: Booking conversion varies but can only really be measured where significant bookings have actually occurred, thus the conversion figures for Hotels A and B below are not really statistically relevant.

Our global data would indicate that conversion is actually quite good for this programme. On average we are seeing conversion to be higher than that for the Business Listing. As with the Business Listing, there are many conversion factors in the hotelier’s hands that need to be dealt with to ensure no barriers to booking are in place. Expect conversion of the order of 1.5% to 2.5% if your hotel has a competitive offering, especially if you use features like Bookassist’s Dynamic Pricing that can allow your hotel’s booking engine to undercut OTAs with discounts/offers related to length of stay.

• Return on Investment: ROI is consistently positive once conversion is being achieved. Expect an ROI above 6 if your hotel is achieving measurable bookings.

Our Advice TripAdvisor Direct with Bookassist is about diverting your customer’s booking potential on Tripadvisor from OTAs to you, and in our experience its success is related to how competitive your pricing is, rather than rank.

It may be low booking volume, but with a decent ROI it is certainly worth doing. If you do not partake, you are passively handing business straight to the OTAs. The long term consequences of this for your business need to be weighed when looking at the apparent CA incurred in availing of these services.

At the very least it is better to trial the services and make an informed decision following a period of real data analysis on the total CA versus that of the OTAs, while bearing in mind the less measurable advantages of direct business generation and customer lifetime value issues.

If you have queries on these Tripadvisor services, contact Bookassist directly on trafficbuilder@bookassist.com Martin Murray is Search Marketer and Des O’Mahony is CEO & Founder at Bookassist (bookassist.org), the leading technology and online strategy partner for hotels.

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COMPETITIVENESS

Can you handle the truth? (about NAMA that is) Tom Cruise couldn’t handle it when Jack Nicholson told him that frankly, civilian rules don’t apply on military bases. The Irish electorate couldn’t handle it when Bertie Aherne gave such patronisingly false evidence at the Mahon tribunal. Can you handle the truth that NAMA and bank backed hotels really aren’t the biggest threat to your business?

Even the name NAMA spins up conceptions that have become part of popular mythology. A bail out for the fat cats. A national disaster that’s saddled the working man with the debts of the Celtic tigers biggest risk takers, now living on a yacht in the med. NAMA seems easy to hate. And like all good myths there’s a bit of truth but that grows with each telling.

“ From my experience dealing with them and running those businesses it’s absolutely painful trying to get any spend over and above what is absolutely necessary to keep the door open

Perhaps you’ve heard the tale about the worry free cash that banks pump into these distressed assets to refurbish them? “From my experience dealing with them and running those businesses it’s absolutely painful trying to get any spend over and above what is absolutely necessary to keep the door open,” says Ray Byrne, who not only runs the Wineport Lodge Hotel in Athlone, but through his company Splash Hospitality advises a number of hotels, both independent and NAMA backed, including the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght. Jim Murphy, of the Prem Group was equally adamant this didn’t take place. “In every single business we run we put in a capex programme,” he says, “but that’s based on the ability of the business to pay for itself.”

One NAMA backed hotel in the capital we know of has been allowed sizeable funds to refurbish but that was due to damage caused by the floods this winter rather than any attempt to secure competitive advantage.

But if the money isn’t being poured out

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to refurbish these hotels, they’re at least getting an unfair advantage because NAMA is parking their debts right? Michael Vaughan, president of the Irish Hotels Federation disagrees. “There isn’t any hotel in the country that isn’t being supported in some manner or other through interest only arrangements with their bank or parking of debt for a particular period.” So, in other words we’re nearly all at it.

The real hydra that refuses to die is the undercutting of room rates of course.

Anecdotally we all know someone, who knows someone who has seen this happen, but there’s little hard fact. Vaughan says he’s alert to members concerns here, and has seen it happen himself in Donegal. But do bank backed hotels run at a loss, just to keep the doors open? Not according to Murphy. “All the hotels that are in receivership that we’re running are in the black,” he says, “and they’re all trading normally.” Murphy doesn’t deny that his group can reduce costs through economies of scale, and sometimes pass on some of those saving to customers, but then so do Tesco and Ryanair. That’s nothing to do with NAMA. Hotels we

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looked at- including Whites of Wexford which Ulster Bank put into receivership in 2009 and the Osprey in Naas, currently in NAMA’s enforced property list were advertising rooms roughly the same rate as local competitors with no sign of heavy discounting.

A big part of the problem is one of perception. There are actually many more bank backed hotels than there are hotels “in NAMA” and even that proportion is very small - Vaughan says he’s received calls from members concerned about NAMA hotels only to find out the hotel itself was solvent, but the developer had completely separate assets in the NAMA scheme.

There’s also a fundamental idea that a hotel in NAMA must be unviable. Even Byrne agrees some of these hotels are being “kept going on some sort of a life support for as long as it takes for some kind of commercial benefit to come into them.” Given the over-supply of rooms in the country at the moment, wouldn’t it The real hydra that make a lot of sense to pull the plug on refuses to die is the these underperforming properties and undercutting of room rates reduce supply to meet demand? of course. Anecdotally we “Many of the properties (management companies manage) are fundamentally all know someone, who sound,” explains Vaughan. “They knows someone who has produce an operating profit the trouble seen this happen, but is they can’t service the debt that was there’s little hard fact. originally placed on them.” So in other words these hotels don’t deserve to die - and in an ordinary market there would be access to credit for a new operator to buy a viable business. But we’re not in a normal market, which is the very reason NAMA exists. Byrne says it’s a fool’s paradise to think Ireland is going to be returned to a greenfield site post boom, so even in those cases where Vaughan argues “hotels should never have been built” those buildings remain. The IHF opened talks last year with a number of residential healthcare providers with a view to converting some of the excess stock, but due to health and safety requirements it didn’t make financial sense from the healthcare providers point of view. So if these

“

hotels remain, and remain as hotels why doesn’t NAMA just sell them on, getting the market moving again and get out of the hotel game?

This Vaughan points out is actually the most dangerous thing NAMA could do. Fire sales of properties inevitably make headlines, and depreciate the market. As most hotels have some kind of debt secured against the value of the property, a further fall in that property value could create another tranche of distressed asset hotels. So as a state asset management agency, its NAMA’s job to manage its current assets (inversely something it’s accused of not doing enough of) until they can be fed back into the market at a reasonable price.

“The biggest issue we have in Ireland is we don’t have enough demand for our products,” says Byrne, “and until we resolve that problem we can fight about NAMA and insolvency issues all day, but we have to get more customers arriving at the doors of the hotel, because until we get that we’re at nothing.”

If you disagree with this article or do have hard evidence of unfair bias towards NAMA hotels let us know by contacting us at editorial@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12

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MOBILE MARKETING

Tapping into the Global, Mobile Buzz

What is the most important trend that the hospitality industry needs to concentrate on this year? Mobile marketing is the big opportunity for those who are ready to talk to customers on the move, according to speakers at the recent Web Check Your Online Focus ‘Home and Away’ conference run by Fáilte Ireland at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel in Dublin, attended by more than 80 tourism companies. And it was the trend setters who were manning the podium, with Facebook, Google and Trip Advisor giving the audience the very latest tips and techniques to stay ahead of the curve.

To build long term growth, mobile marketing combined with a strategy aimed at attracting the international tourist to your tourism property is the way to go, according to the conference organisers.

According to Scott Field from Google, the majority of people who book hotels now do so using maps sites. The question for any business is then are they listed on key sites such as Google Places and how do they look when researched through a mobile device, such as a Smart phone or an iPad. “Irish consumers have the highest propensity in Europe to research and book online.”

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According to Field, Irish consumers have the highest propensity to research and book online in Europe, followed only by the UK. An Irish person may spend up to 2.5 hours searching travel products such as flights, hotels, activities and car hire services when planning a trip. In that search they may visit up to 25 sites. While Field couldn’t give an explanation for our very high online engagement, no doubt Ryanair’s policy of online only bookings has forced a lot of people who might otherwise have been late adopters, to move online. Added to that, our young demographic profile means that the mobile marketing trend means that the To build long term hospitality industry needs to keep its growth, mobile finger on the digital pulse. marketing combined “A lot of people don’t consider how with a strategy aimed at they look on line. They must consider how they look when they are accessed attracting the from mobile devices. It is far less about international tourist to packages and far more about getting your tourism property is your key contact information across the way to go… simply,” explains Field. He outlines that because people are booking later and later, they are even more likely to access your property via maps as many people are not already en route before they make a booking. “People feel empowered to put packages together themselves and believe, rightly or wrongly, that they are cheaper.”

Jenny Taaffe, of Digital Marketing and a key panel contributor on the day agrees with Scott Field’s advice to the industry. Citing research carried out on Online Travel Agents, she said that as many as 10 per cent of travellers book hotels on the day they need accommodation. She recommends that hotels ensure they have offers that are attractive to this type of market, creating special offers or adding value, such as food vouchers, to get travel browsers to book.

You can check out the performance of your own business using free online tools

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MOBILE MARKETING

Pictured at Fáilte Ireland’s Web Check Conference, held recently at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin are L to R: Andrew Weld-Moore, Facebook; Linda Sullivan, Druids Glen Hotel; Tony Lenehan, Fáilte Ireland; Victoria Delaney, TripAdvisor and Scott Field, Google.

Pictured at Fáilte Ireland’s Web Check Conference, held recently at the Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin are L to R: Stephen Dudley, Fáilte Ireland; Victoria Delaney, TripAdvisor; Georgina Caraher, Experience Gaelic Games and Ruairi Ferrie, Christ Church Cathedral.

such as the mobile marketing help site, www.howtogetmo.com. Just because you can see your normal website on a smart phone doesn’t mean it is mobile-friendly.

The images are designed for the big screen while mobile sites are simple, with minimal information that looks good on the smaller screen. For smart phones, Jenny Taaffe advises that you go for a completely functional online experience but for customers using tablet devices to reach your business, you need to provide a great online experience, so photos become very important.

If you are aiming at the international markets, beware of mistakes you can make in taking an Irish perspective. While the Irish love arty shots that convey the atmosphere rather than the information, according to Taaffe this doesn’t wash with say a US visitor who wants to know what the building looks like, what the rooms, look like and your overall facilities.

Leveraging the potential of Facebook Andrew Weld-Moore of Facebook reminded the audience that Facebook was about a lot more than clicks and fans, its real value is in enabling an ongoing connection with your audience and then, exponentially, your audience’s friends. In the new marketing era, recommendations that friends make to each other is where the real influence lies, and this is where Facebook can be Word of Mouth at scale. For example, those who are referred through friends rather than ‘the crowd’ are four times more likely to make a purchase, according to Weld-Moore.

Finding the right tone is really important so that the conversation should be authentic. Given that you are looking for facebook fans to refer onwards, you’ve got to remember that they will only do this if they believe in you. The more you come

across as the ‘hard sell’ the less likely you are to be liked. Yep! It’s just like real life!

Trip Advisor representative, Victoria Delany, had some good advice about the potential of the site to build on the ‘wisdom of friends’ trend that is so prevalent right now. For consumers, the site is becoming more sticky because now you can trace the travel track marks left by your friends, read their reviews of particular places and be influenced by people you know and believe in rather than the old ‘wisdom of crowds’.

This has been made possible by the link up between facebook and Trip Advisor, which is enabling us to listen to our real acquaintances rather than strangers.

This is probably very timely, given the ongoing shadow over the validity of some of the Trip Advisor reviews. Delany claims that the company has a very active aptly named fraud squad, checking out false reviews and blacklisting any companies that are seen to misuse the site. At the break out sessions, it was clear that some of the companies that have received bad reviews have found it very, very difficult to get any response from Trip Advisor.

Interestingly, Cornell University have come up with a programme that can detect fake reviews better than mere mortals.

Apparently, fake reviews are just a little too perfect while genuine reviews have different patterns of English that can be picked up by the Cornell software.

Deceptive reviews use more verbs, adverbs and pronouns while truthful ones use more punctuation such as !!!as well as dashes, incomplete sentences and dollar signs.

The panel of presenters also included Ian Cleary, who joined Victoria Delany in the break out sessions to advise companies on how to track and influence our online reputation. Gary Delaney from LOC8ate and Scott Field from Google ran a very interesting session on how best to locate and market your business when accessed via mobile and satellite devices. Pat McKeown of FF Solutions and Caitriona Walsh of OSD Ltd, both web design companies working as part of Steve Dudley’s Web Supports Team at Fáilte Ireland provided rapid reviews of websites - giving participants a brief independent website review on the day.

This conference was part of Fáilte Ireland’s extensive programme to support tourism and hospitality companies in developing smart digital strategies. So far they have supported 3000 companies in mainly one-to-one programmes while web training workshops and Webinars have been attended by over 5000 delegates.

For further information, contact Fáilte Ireland’s web support team at: 01-8847761 or go online: www.failteireland.ie/websupports.

Cariona Neary H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12

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RAI CONFERENCE

Succeeding in Adversity Delegates at the Restaurant Association of Ireland’s annual conference at the Westin Hotel in Dublin were told that the hard work was still not over for their industry - a point that couldn’t have been more clearly made by the conference’s official theme “Succeeding in Adversity”. Everyone in the room was congratulated for being a survivor - the thinning ranks and empty seats a testimony to those who have not made it this far - but also told fatigue and lazy thinking would leave them with no one to blame but themselves if they didn’t maximise every opportunity out there. For many delegates, who’ve now spent years treading water just to keep their businesses running, fatigue may well be an ever present companion, but the RAI assembled an impressive cast of business strategists ranging from social media gurus to UCD professors to inspire the unconventional thinking they clearly think is needed.

In 1965 Dick Fosbury was a limited school athlete who couldn’t even clear the five foot qualifier bar for high jump, social media expert Jack Murray told delegates.

Rather than simply repeating and failing the same approach he went away and engineered what would become known as the Fosbury Flop - the seemingly counter intuitive movement of an athlete throwing themselves over the bar backwards, lifting their trailing legs behind them, a technique now used by every high jumper worldwide.

Fosbury took Olympic gold in 1968, having added over two feet to his cleared height, and Murray encouraged delegates to likewise totally reinvent any failing strategies to achieve success.

Murray, owner of Mediacontact.ie,

Cathy Meade (Unilever) and Cyril McAree (Hotel & Resturant Times)

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highlighted the terrific success of restaurants such as Crackbird in Dublin that have used social media to create and engage a community of diners - in Crackbird’s case the simple hook of offering one table their meal free each night ensured viral marketing success, and a full restaurant of paying customers attracted by the gimmick. Social media he argued should be part of every restaurant’s strategy, from the smallest to the best known - Rene Redzepi’sNoma restaurant in Copenhagen, considered the world’s best restaurant is passionate about twitter, using words and images to show off fresh produce arriving in the kitchen and new menu dishes being created. Whether you’re creating a fresh dish or renovating there’s a story behind it -share that story and “bring people on that journey with you” he said.

With Murray and Professor Damien McLoughlin, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School presenting, the afternoon had a clear emphasis on driving more customers into the door.

McLoughlin told delegates to always think in terms of their brand. A brand McLoughlin said is nothing more A new generation of than a series of stories that a business tells about itself and politicians are going to have to that others tell about it. start telling home truths, listing One industry that lives or dies key hurdles Ireland and Europe by the brands it creates is the had yet to clear before full magazine industry. “If your recovery could begin. restaurant was a car, what car Slashing state costs was would it be?” Nora Casey, MD of expected, but he also told Harmonia and resident dragon in RTE’s Dragon’s Den challenged delegates serious inflation was delegates. Perhaps that appears on its way as governments use an offbeat exercise, but Casey quantitative easing to inflate told the industry her magazine their way out of debt teams - editorial, marketing and sales - would get together as often as four to five times a year to ensure they had a consistent set of values and message for a product. She also said the smart way to move any business forward was to always focus on the money. “Every single decision - why did I do that? Is it about making money, is it ego? Money is not dirty word, it should drive your whole business.Every single menu you have you should know what the margin is on it. If I said to you: that filet steak, how much do you make on that? You should know.”

Casey told delegates they must dazzle their customers in order to stand out from the crowd, but of the ten tips she delivered in her morning presentation, she ranked a good knowledge of finances as the single most important, urging delegates, if they did not have the knowledge themselves to hire someone that did. “If you don’t

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Maresa Cagney (Heinz) and Elaine Walsh (The Cookbook Club)

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RAI CONFERENCE

IHI President Feargal O'Connell with Gina Murphy of Hugos

IHI President Fergal O'Connell with Paul Cadden, Saba, RAI President Brian Fallon, Minister Leo Varadkar and Mark Cadden Bar One

Kevin & Gillian Arundel of The Chop House with Hugo Arnold

Minister Leo Varadkar & RAI President Brian Fallon presenting the RAI Mike Butt Award 2012 to Aidan McManus, King Sitric

Sharon Hendron & Alan Cashman (Java Republic) with Catherine Ryan (Isaacs)

Kevin O'Tollw (Chamelon), Julie Cox (Beaufield Mews) and Ben Reynolds (Liberty Wines)

understand figures you shouldn’t be running a business” she said bluntly.

“If you don’t have good fiscal knowledge then business is going to be always tough for you.”

The conference remains of course far more than a series of lectures and delegates took full advantage of the opportunity to network with colleagues and business partners during breaks in sessions, as well as meeting exhibitors. One group showing a keen interest in the future of the industry were students from Cashel Community School, who exhibited and presented their project to introduce braille and easy read menus into Irish restaurants, something that met with warm applause from the audience.

But if the theme was succeeding in adversity then of course the other question everyone wanted to know was just how adverse was the situation out there, and how adverse was it going to continue to be? Eddie Hobbs, an Independent Financial Advisor originally from Cork, who has appeared on our television screens once or twice over the last few years gave a practised turn from beside the lectern, that mixed anecdote and humour with hard fact. “A new generation of politicians,” he said, “are going to have to start telling home truths,” listing key hurdles Ireland

and Europe had yet to clear before full recovery could begin. Slashing state costs was expected, but he also told delegates serious inflation was on its way as governments use quantitative easing to inflate their way out of debt. Inflation he argued may not be a bad thing as it alters consumer behaviour and gets them spending again. For those of us in a fortunate enough position to have assets to invest right now Hobbs had these bits of guidance -where possible rent business assets rather than buying outright, keep at least 10% of your investments in gold, and look for a pension fund that invests in the developing world - currently growing five times as quickly as the developed world.

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DUBLIN TOURISM

Can Destination Dublin grow again?

Frank Corr looks at the potential for tourism in the capital

The official reason for the abolition of Dublin Tourism and its appropriation by Failte Ireland, is that it is in accordance with a Government decision to reduce the number of quangos in the country.

That the move elicited smiles of quiet satisfaction in some quarters and groans of disappointment in others will not be officially recorded.

It is however one of the most significant decisions ever taken in relation to the development of tourism in our capital city and its marketing throughout the world.

Dublin is of enormous importance to the Irish tourism industry. Of the 5.86m visitors to Ireland in 2010, 3.48m visited Dublin and a further 772,000 visited the adjacent ‘East Midlands’ region. In that year also 35% of American visitors to this country visited Dublin- and Dublin only, never venturing outside of the capital city. Much the same can be said for more than a million visitors who come here on week-end breaks and those attending conferences. The vast majority fly into Dublin and remain there.

Europe has become Dublin’s biggest market, providing 1.35m visitors (39%) and 40

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€448m revenue in 2010. It is closely followed by Britain with 1.26m visitors (36%) and €253. revenue with North America providing 608,000 visitors (18%) who spent €198m. They come to the city principally for leisure with 42% on a main holiday, 13% on a City Break and a sizeable 22% visiting family and friends. Just 18% come to Dublin on business. Both the British and European visitors tend to remain in the city throughout their stay while Americans are more likely to visit other parts of the country, often hiring a car to do so.

This annual influx of visitors makes a major contribution to the economy of Dublin and to Government taxes. They are by far the biggest market for the city’s 19,000 registered hotel rooms and 4,000 other Dublin is of enormous rooms in guesthouses and hostels and importance to the Irish they are the backbone of trade for city centre restaurants and pubs as well as tourism industry. Of the keeping the tills ringing in retail stores.

5.86m visitors to Ireland in They are also the dominant market for 2010, 3.48m visited Dublin the city’s visitor attractions (apart and a further 772,000 perhaps from Dublin Zoo), with 930,000 visited the adjacent ‘East visiting the Guinness Storehouse in 2010, 469,000 viewing the Book of Kells, Midlands’ region.

300,000 paying admission to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and 278,000 touring Kilmainham Gaol. All this is before they drink a pint, travel on the DART or LUAS or go to a show.

The current worry among all of these service providers is that the number of visitors to the city has been declining rapidly since 2007, pretty much in line with the national decline in tourism. Total visitors to Dublin have fallen from 4.4m in 2007 to 3.4m in 2010. It amounts to around one million fewer visitors now than at the peak of the boom. The biggest declines have been from Britain (down from 1.86m

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DUBLIN TOURISM to 1.28m) and North America (732,000 to 214,000) while European visitors have fallen from 1.48m to 1.35m. Detailed figures for 2011 are not yet published but they are likely to show a slight increase.

The downturn has focussed attention on the overall management of tourism in Dublin, which until the beginning of this year was nominally the responsibility of Dublin Tourism, an independent organisation which was for many years funded by Failte Ireland, Dublin local authorities and its membership. During the early years of this century however Dublin Tourism provided a growing share of its annual budget through a range of commercial activities. In 2004 for instance accountants Deloitte revealed in a report on the organisation , that Failte Ireland was contributing just over 15% of revenue with commercial activities grossing close on 5m of a 6.5m. budget. This report also referred to a new ‘award-winning website’, the successful launch of the ‘Dublin Pass’ and 1.5m customers visiting its Tourism Information Offices, including its attractive headquarters in a converted church close to Grafton Street. There can be little doubt that Dublin was ‘flying high’ at that time and was indeed ranked only behind London and Paris in terms of European Capital City bednights which, at 18.6m, had grown by 21% between 1990 and 2003. There were no suggestions at that time that Dublin Tourism should be absorbed into Failte Ireland.

Hard times however encouraged planners to take a closer look at Dublin Tourism and to analyse its activities. Responsibility for the marketing of Dublin abroad had been largely assumed by Tourism Ireland while other players such as Dublin City Councils had become more active in developing tourism infrastructure. Apart from some specialised marketing on the domestic and overseas markets, the principal activity of Dublin Tourism was in selling a range of tourism products through its TIOs (which proved to be very profitable) and operating five Tourism Attractions (Malahide Castle, Dublin Writers Museum, Fry Model Railway, Shaw’s Birthplace and the Joyce Museum), none of which featured in the Top Ten attractions of the city. A view developed therefore that the development of the tourism product in Dublin might be best served by transferring responsibility to Failte Ireland which could both invest directly and co-ordinate the activities of other stakeholders such as the Chamber of Commerce, Dublin City Councils and attraction operators. This view developed more traction when Failte Ireland took over the other regional tourism organisations (even Cork-Kerry) and came to fruition with the Government policy on semi-state bodies.

The demise of Dublin tourism has given rise to some anxiety that a vacuum may exist in the promotion and development of Dublin as a destination and this has led to a decision by ITIC to commission research on the marketing requirements of the capital. The project called ‘Capitalising on Dublin’s Potential’ is being undertaken

by Tourism Development International which has invited comment from interested parties. According to ITIC, the transfer of the functions of Dublin Tourism to Failte Ireland ‘brings centre stage the urgent need to establish an international destination marketing function which will exploit to the full the enormous potential still untapped for Dublin’.

A top priority in any such strategy must be to win back the one million visitors per annum which the city has lost since 2007. Central to such a plan must be a clear understanding of why the tourism has fallen away particularly in the Britain and US markets. Currency values and economic conditions are of course factors, but a close look should also be taken at the ‘fashionability’ of Dublin, a possibly ‘tired’

product in places like Temple Bar, dining, drinking, transport and entertainment pricing and the creation of new ‘must see’ attractions.

Dublin is a complex tourism product whose principal market is leisure visitors.

The availability of things to see and do, places to eat and drink and the value on offer are therefore of prime importance.

This is particularly true of the large numbers (50% of British visitors and 25%

“ The ITIC study is examining the option of a ‘Brand Dublin’ which would encompass tourism, industry, commerce and lifestyle along the lines of the image presented by New York and London.

of Americans) who stay with family and friends. Their only contribution to the local economy is the money they spend on sight-seeing, dining, drinking, shopping and entertainment.

A sub-division of leisure visitors which does not feature in the statistics are the growing numbers who come to the city for concerts and sports fixtures. Thanks to the opening of the O2 and Bord Gais Energy theatres and the Aviva sports stadium, this segment has grown rapidly in recent years and has scope for significant further development.

The opening of CCD has of course made a similar contribution to business tourism which at 18% of total visitors to Dublin is relatively small, but punches above its weight in revenue terms. The conference market is both rewarding and competitive and the existence of a strong ‘city brand’ can be a powerful tool in winning business.

Fáilte Ireland is now the key player in the development of tourism in Dublin and it will be interesting to see how it approaches a significant challenge. It will need to be a leader and co-ordinator for the diverse stakeholders including an array of competitive commercial interests, cashstrapped local authorities, Dublin Airport and Port authorities, carriers, transporters, the heritage and arts communities and maybe the industrial and educational sectors.

The ITIC study is examining the option of a ‘Brand Dublin’ which would encompass tourism, industry, commerce and lifestyle along the lines of the image presented by New York and London.

Such a strategy would require significant funding and even more significant cooperation, but the benefits of getting an entire community to present a single (friendly) image to the world, would indeed be immense.

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FOOD

Place on a Plate Using local food to promote your business Fáilte Ireland believes that food tourism is a growing market segment internationally and is working with many tourist destinations to develop this important sector as a means of gaining competitive advantage.

Helen McDaid, Fáilte Ireland’s Manager for Food & Hospitality Innovation emphasises: “Ireland already has much to offer the visitor in terms of our food offering and the potential to build on success to date is significant. Ireland is an island rich with lush green vegetation with a strong agricultural tradition. There is an amazing diversity of food found across all regions of Ireland and there is a sense that Ireland is becoming a very exciting place for good quality local food.”

To capitalise on the both these facts, it is important that our local food, producers and regional specialities are appearing on our restaurant, hotel, café and pub menus right across the country. A significant proportion of a visitors time on holiday will be spent experiencing food in some way either consuming it in local dining or hospitality establishments, visiting specialist shops and farmers markets or having a hands on learning experience in a cookery school. As a consequence, the experience the visitors have of food will play a pivotal part in determining their satisfaction with their overall holiday. Add to that the fact that €2 of every €5 visitors spend is on food and drink and the potential value to businesses is clear.

Fáilte Ireland’s focus on food tourism spans a number of different areas from marketing opportunities and skill development, to expertise based on international best practice. We recently supported an educational 4 day foodfocused trip for the finalists of the EuroToque Young Chef of the Year competition which included, master classes with Michael Quinn, Waterford Castle and Paul Flynn, The Tannery; visits to artisan food producers and exemplary Irish food and hospitality operators.

‘Place on a Plate’ is focused on operational businesses and the purpose of is to encourage all food and hospitality providers to adopt an ethos of offering fresh, locally sourced, seasonal food on your menu and just as importantly, make sure you are telling your customers about it! The reason is simple: research has shown that in recent years experiencing local foods and beverages, which express the identity of a destination through food culture and heritage, has become a sought 42

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Johnny and Katie Fitzgibbon from Aherne’s Seafood Bar & Townhouse, Youghal, source local produce for their restaurant

after travel experience for both domestic and international visitors. Taking the first step is also simple - you can start with just one dish...

A number of workshops have already been held and more are planned nationwide covering everything from writing your menu to increase your sales, to culinary trends, up-skilling your front of house staff, profitable kitchen management and how to create value for your customers.

Ms McDaid adds: “Fáilte Ireland’s involvement in food tourism reflects a recognition of the the importance of Irish food to the overall tourist experience.

Above all it reflects the commitment to the sector particularly around the culinary, service and hospitality skills necessary to build Ireland’s national and international food reputation. The top satisfiers for visitors to Ireland have always been the scenery and the people - food is a great way to link the two and deliver even higher satisfaction.”

“Place on a plate is a superb business opportunity that has been created by Fáilte Ireland to encourage and inspire people to use and support local producers. I think this is an excellent way of communicating all the benefits to the consumer by serving Irish products and protecting and growing the economy. Having worked in many areas in Ireland and tasted the produce that is available I can say that Ireland has World leading quality and taste to offer, which is the envy of many other countries. I applaud Failte Ireland in supporting this and feel the benefits this offers to clients and consumers is fantastic.” John Wood

What is ‘Place on a Plate’?

The purpose of ‘Place on a Plate’ is to encourage you to adopt an ethos of offering fresh, locally sourced, seasonal food on your menu and just as importantly, make sure you are telling your customers about it!

The reason is simple: research has shown that in recent years experiencing local foods and beverages, which express the identity of a destination through food culture and heritage, has become a sought after travel experience for both domestic and international visitors. Taking the first step is also simple - you can start with just one dish...

Who is Place on the Plate’ for?

This ethos can be embraced by any business serving food.

• Café • Pub • Hotel • Restaurant • Bistro

It doesn’t matter - just start with one dish…

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FOOD

A lot of food providers are using local food already. Use our top tips and business supports to make sure you are capitalising on all the great things you are doing.

What’s in it for me?

Embracing the ethos of ‘Place on a Plate’ is an opportunity for your business to benefit from the growing trend of consumers looking for, and willing to spend more, on locally sourced dishes whilst on holidays. So it could; • Increase visitor spend • Attract more customers • Increase satisfaction • Create a platform for producers and providers to work together • Raise the profile of your locality • Bring increased business to your area • Benefit the local economy.

How can I make it work for me?

Have a look at the four ingredients of ‘Place on a Plate’and think about this in the context of your business: • Are you making the most of the locally produced food available in your area? Do you know what is available?

• Do you really understand what your customer wants? Would they like to see more local food available?

• What can a visitor get to eat in your business that they can’t taste in the rest of the country?

• Do you consistently offer quality and value? Have you asked your customers what they think?

How can Fáilte Ireland help?

We have a wide range of business supports and workshops which have been tailored to help you implement ‘Place on a Plate’. These include: • Up-skilling your chefs in the latest culinary trends • Up-skilling your front of house staff • Use your menu to drive food sales • Create value from a consumer perspective • Profitable kitchen management • Enhance your web marketing and use of social media How can I get started?

‘Place on a Plate’ helps you think differently about the food you offer. We have business supports to help but some things you can do to get you started include: Top Tips 1. Find out about the local food traditions and specialties in your area.

2. Don’t assume that local food is more expensive. Get to know your local food producers. Know what they offer and when it is available.

3. Start with just one dish on your menu made from locally sourced produce.

4. Make sure your front of house staff know the recipes and source of the food you serve. They should also be aware of the food history and traditions of the region.

5. Encourage your staff to suggest dishes made with local food to your customers.

6. Look critically at your menu - are you telling your customers about homemade

items on your menu or any regional specialty produce, traditional recipes used?

7. List the names of local suppliers that you use or, even better, incorporate them into the names and menu descriptions in dishes or identify them on a map of your area.

8. Bring your staff to meet your local producers so that they can get a feel for the produce.

9. Get involved with local food initiatives.

10. Sign up for BordBia’s Just Ask! Campaign and get recognition for your efforts.

Why is food important for your tourism business?

“Ireland is well known internationally for the quality or our ingredients... more so than our cuisine”.

“Close to €2 billion is spent by visitors on food and drink while holidaying in Ireland. In fact, €2 out of every €5 they spend is on food and drink.”

“Offering quality, seasonal, fresh, local food traditional recipes or regional specialities creates opportunities for your business to gain new visitors and makes your offering more unique.”

“By engaging with local producers, you will support the local economy and promote your locality, heritage and culture to visitors.”

“Consumers remain very focused on both the value and the quality of their food experience.”

For further information please email _foodtourism@failteireland.ie H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12

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WINE

Who will head Torres?

Frank Corr looks at a dynastic succession When Miguel Torres visited Dublin a few weeks ago he was his usual quiet, assured, informative self. He talked about winemaking and his wines, but at the back of his head other thoughts must have been active.

It was his final visit to Dublin as head of the Torres wine dynasty. Later this year he turns seventy and under company rules, which he wrote himself, he must retire.

This process has presented Miguel with the need to take the most important decision of his life- far more vital to the future of the business than any selection of vineyard or cultivation of vine.

He must choose a successor between his son Miguel, who currently runs the extensive Torres wine interests in Chile, and his daughter Mireia, who is the company’s technical director. Both members of the next generation of the Torres family are passionate about wine and about the family business and both are highly regarded as wine-makers who have already gained valuable experience.

The decision facing Miguel Snr. brings to mind a lunch at the Torres headquarters in Penedes a generation ago. I sat next to Miguel’s mother Donna Margarita de Torres and she spent much of the time talking, and worrying about ‘the children’, particularly the then youthful Miguel and his sister Marimar.

It was Marimar who was to emerge as the ‘rebel’ of the family. An independentminded child, she bridled at the preference given to the boys in the family. As she recorded in an interview during a visit to India last year, ‘as a little girl I was treated as second to my two brothers… I was expected to make my brothers’ beds along with the maid’.

The experience drove her to study and when she emerged from Barcelona University with a business degree, she was ready to take on the world of commerce.

Instead she married an American journalist who was visiting the vineyards and emigrated to California where she established her own highly successful wine business and wrote a best-selling cookery book. Now aged 67 she has become a feisty icon of female success in a maledominated industry. She is to-day close to her brother Miguel and has named vineyards in Sanoma County’s Russian River after her parents.

Don Miguel died in 1991 and was succeeded by the present Miguel who expanded the business into Chile and set up wine-making joint ventures in China and India. At home Torres remained a champion 44

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“ Miguel Torres

of Catalonian wines but also acquired vineyards in Toro, Ribera de Duero, Priorat and Rioja.

At a technical level, Torres has made two significant contributions to the development of enology in Spain: firstly, He must choose a the use of fermentation at controlled temperatures, and secondly, the successor between his Bordeaux technique of maturing wine in son Miguel, who small oak barrels over a defined period. currently runs the Commercially the company has been extensive Torres wine highly successful, exporting its wines to interests in Chile, and his more than 120 markets worldwide. It has enjoyed particular success in the daughter Mireia, who is UK where it accounts for more than 7% the company’s technical of all imports of Spanish wines and has director had a long-time presence on the Irish market with brands like Vina Sol, Vina Esmeralda and Sangre de Toro (the bottle with the little plastic bull attached to the neck), which are distributed here by Findlater Wines.

Torres is best known among wine-lovers for its single-vineyard bottlings, such as the Mas La Plana Black Label and Grans Muralles reds and the white Milmanda and more recently for its wines from Priorat, Toro and Rioja.

In a few months from now a new member of the Torres family will head this enormous business. Will it be another Miguel, called back from Chile, or will Mareia become the first woman be named as President ?.

Only Miguel Snr. knows the answer. And on his Dublin visit he was keeping the secret to himself.

Vineyard in the City A vineyard, complete with vines, earth and grapes, will appear at Dublin’s IFSC next September when Australian producer McGuigans brings its ‘City Vineyard’ to Dublin.

The display includes rows of 60-year-old Semillon vines planted in turf soil which will be carefully transported from Australia. They will be ‘planted’ in front of a cellar bar and wine shop and the props will include tractors of the kind used in the McGuigan vineyards.

Visitors will be able to stroll through the rows of vines while sampling the latest McGuigan vintages. The company is investing €250,000 in the promotion and is confident that the ‘City Vineyard’ which has been a huge success in Melbourne and London, will attract large numbers of visitors.

The promotion will also have a tourism spin-off as McGuigan’s plans to invite a group of buyers and wine journalists from the UK to visit the IFSC.

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INSTANT DRINKS

Kenco 2Go! gets bigger and better Kenco Freshseal is re-launching as Kenco 2Go! with a makeover, bigger cups and exciting new brands.

As part of the relaunch, Kenco Millicano, the very first Wholebean Instant coffee launched by Kenco last year, is to join the range. Kenco Millicano is a clever combination of instant coffee and finely-milled wholebeans, giving the convenience of instant with a velvety flavour and rich aroma reminiscent of roast and ground.

Cadbury Hot Chocolate will also join the range, adding even more great brands that consumers love. The new range will move from a 10oz plastic cup to a 12oz doublewalled paper cup, all with a brand new modern look. And to help consumers get even more out of Kenco 2Go!, Kenco and Cadbury cups will feature a QR code, encouraging them to visit the website and Facebook page via their smartphone and give their feedback.

Kenco 2Go! is the ideal solution for serving great-tasting hot drinks on the go.

The range features a wide variety of well loved brands and sustainably sourced products in a ready-to-serve, in-cup format, with pre-dosed products kept fresh by a foil seal - all the operator needs to do is peel back the lid, add hot water and serve. The range now includes Kenco Millicano, Kenco Rich, Kenco Cappuccino, Lyons Tea, PG Tips tea, Cadbury Hot Chocolate and Bovril in branded sleeves for easy identification when stocking on display.

All of the the coffee beans for Kenco products are sourced from Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farms, while Cadbury Hot Chocolate is certified Fairtrade. Lyons tea also contains 100 per cent tea from Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farms.

Daphne Hosford, Lead Channel Marketing Manager at Kraft Foods Ireland, said: Kenco 2Go! makes it easy to serve hot drinks in the shortest time possible, with a simple three-step operation involving no mess and no fuss, and our range of brands offers great quality, taste and sustainability benefits.

“Kenco Millicano and Cadbury Hot Chocolate bring two more fantastic products to the range, offering consumers even more choice and helping operators to drive sales.”

Kenco 2Go! will be available to order from June.

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WATER

To Infinity and beyond!

Irish entrepreneur Dermot O’Brien is offering to turn hotel and restaurants ordinary tap water into high quality saleable bottled water A celebrity business guru like Bill Cullen or Lord Sugar might argue that when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana, he had spotted a gap in the market for his product, or identified a low cost value added solution. While Irish entrepreneur Dermot O’Brien might not be offering to do quite that, he is offering to turn hotel and restaurants ordinary tap water into high quality saleable bottled water, on a par with anything available in the bottled water market, and he is claiming to save anything up to €25,000 per year off their costs, something which for owners struggling with the downturn might be described as a modern day miracle.

O’Brien’s adventure began four years ago on a visit to the United States. He’d been working for a water filtration company in Ireland, mainly targeting residential properties and new builds. At the same time as that market began to dry up, he was amazed to find a technology in the US that allowed commercial premises to produce high quality bottled water onsite.

“ The first year was obviously challenging.

Initially a lot of hotels were a little sceptical and a number were saying to us: this sounds fantastic, almost too good to be true.

O’Brien was sure what he had seen had real potential. He returned home to Ireland, collecting whatever money he could to fund a start up: Infinity Water Systems. His car was sold off, replaced by a rented van, his savings became his cash on hand, and he spent long days on the road trying to convince Irish hoteliers that this device the size of a coffee machine could revolutionise the way they sold bottled water.

“The first year was obviously challenging. Initially a lot of hotels were a

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little sceptical and a number were saying to us: this sounds fantastic, almost too good to be true. Who already has it?” Everyone liked what O’Brien was offering but were reluctant to be first to test it out. However despite this O’Brien was still convinced there was a market in Ireland for Infinity. The key he says was just to keep going. “I knew it was a good idea” he says firmly “and I knew I could save them money.” Finally, few weeks later O’Brien was watching the ink dry on his first contract to supply an Infinity Water System. That first deal with the Maryborough Hotel in Cork didn’t just provide O’Brien with his first customer, but a point of reference with a five star hotel and a major player in the industry. On the back of that contact others began to arrive, slowly at first, and then the trickle became a steady stream. From there, O’Brien says Infinity never looked back, and the Maryborough Hotel has remained a valued client and advocate of the system ever since.

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WATER cases beat that of the more established bottled water brands. “Any bottled water you buy has salt, preservatives added to it.

Our water is purer than any of them.”

Yet O’Brien doesn’t see himself as necessarily competing with the suppliers in a winner takes all situation. Many restaurants he works with now offer both Infinity Water and branded bottled water.

“Say you go into a restaurant,” he explains, “and you’re used to being charged four to five euro for (bottled water). Now they can offer you a large 700-750ml bottle for around one euro fifty. That’ll have their own restaurant logo and brand on the bottle, and it’s extra value for their customers.”

The system has added value for hotels where the customer may not consciously choose to order bottled water, but still expect it - a good example would be the water provided in a guest’s room, or the water provided for delegates at conferences.

Today Infinity Water Systems employs seven people - two of whom work fulltime maintaining the systems, one based in Dublin and one in Cork, and O’Brien says they are in the happy position of fielding inbound enquiries for business - a hotel owner who spotted a bottle of their water (O’Brien is astute enough that every bottle his company provides also carries information on the company behind the product) while eating out at a restaurant for example.

“ Infinity Water System’s

Justin McCarthy of the Maryborough is on record as saying that Infinity Water has saved the hotel roughly €20,000 a year on bottled water and would recommend it “100%” to any hotel which seeks his advice. The Griffin Group have three hotels in Wexford and Kilkenny, and they now estimate that they are saving close to €50,000 per annum using the system. With references like this behind him O’Brien has a very powerful sales message.

Infinity Water System’s business model is to rent out the systems they own to premises, which will then pay a fee based on volume of usage. The system itself can simply be connected to a tap and will produce either still or sparkling water, and is says O’Brien “as simple as using a coffee machine”. Infinity will also supply a business with personalised reusable glass bottles carrying the customer logo in either 250ml to 750 ml size. Ongoing support for customers includes regular checks and maintenance of the equipment to ensure it is producing the quality of water that the Infinity brand stands for - quality that O’Brien insists will match, and in many

web: www.infinitywatersystems.com e-mail: info@infinitywatersystems.com tel: 086 2080899

business model is to rent

out the systems they own to premises, which will

then pay a fee based on volume of usage.

O’Brien estimates that fully ninety per cent of the company’s business comes from either hotels or restaurants. There are now about sixty restaurants countrywide using the system although you’re more likely to see a bottle of Infinity Water in Dublin. The system though he says is ideal for anything “from a small café to a large convention centre” and he’s keen to redress that geographical imbalance by employing more salespeople to ensure a fuller coverage of the country. He’s also looking further afield with sales meetings taking place across the UK and as far afield as Qatar to showcase the benefits of the system. The technology itself also is evolving. “We’ve recently sourced a smaller system again,” he adds, “which is ideal for smaller restaurants. It’s really cheap to get in, and would cost them a fraction of what they’re paying right now on bottled water.”

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IHF CONFERENCE

Taking stock at the IHF conference The 74th annual Irish Hotel Federation ran from the 5-6th March this year - a chance for the industry body to take stock of the general health of the market, to reaffirm its commitment to working with stakeholders across the board to increase revenues for its members, and also to identify what it sees as the critical challenges in the year ahead.

The Irish market remains a highly challenging one, said Chief Executive Tim Fenn. “Hotels and guesthouses are struggling to deal with reduced revenues that are effectively the lowest room rates in Europe,” he told delegates, adding, “our members are offering prices that give very little return but, in the current climate, it’s the only option to stay in business. Value has never been better for consumers but it comes at a cost to the sector struggling under high operating costs and exorbitant local authority rates.” With occupancy rates still averaging just 51% Fenn said it was vital Ireland continued to claw back market

share from the global tourism market, with the industry still struggling to recover from a 27% reduction in overseas revenue since 2007. That statistic is conversant with the drop in British visitors, which Fenn described as “our most important tourism market.”

The IHF will attempt to meet these challenges under the presidency of Michael Vaughan, elected for a two year term. Proprietor of the Vaughan Lodge Hotel in Lahinch, Vaughan has is a fourth generation hotelier - his father Micheal preceded him as president in 1967 - and unsurprisingly positioning the west in national tourism plans is one of his key priorities as president. Indeed figures produced at the conference showed that recovery in Ireland is very much a two tier affair - while room occupancy rates in Dublin (64% )the South West (63%) the West (60%) all experienced increases of between two and five percent, the Shannon region remained static for the third consecutive year at 51%, and the East and Midlands (41%), North West (47%) actually fell by between one and three percent.

Vaughan made headlines last year for suggesting that hotels with occupancy rates below 50% could be mothballed or converted into care homes in order to correct the over-supply of rooms, in what was seen as a clear attack on NAMA run hotels operating below cost. When making that statement he also claimed Tourism Ireland’s objective of 8 million visitors to the country would fall well short of the required number to make all of Ireland’s 61,000 hotel and guesthouse bedrooms viable.

Working hand in hand with such agencies in order to ensure the country brings in many more foreign visitors will be another critical part of his role, and indeed figures shown at the conference indicate that the hotel and guest house trade is now dangerously reliant on domestic business - almost 70% of hotel bed nights last year

Michelle Coghlan, Kilronan Castle Hotel, Ciaran Reidy, Lough Rynn Castle, Seamus Preston, Lough Rynn Castle and Recep Pamukcu, Kilronan Castle

President Michael D Higgins with former IHF president from left, Dick Bourke, Mary Fitzgerald, Eamonn McKeown, Matthew Ryan, Paul Gallagher, Jim Murphy, Pat McCann and Willie Loughnane

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Michael Vaughan, (Vaughan's Lodge Hotel, Lahinch, County Clare) )who was elected President of the Irish Hotels Federation in Kilkenny on Tuesday is congratulated by outgoing president Paul Gallagher, left and Tim Fenn, CEO, IHF after his election

President Michaekl D Higgins is welcomed to the IHF annual conference in the Hotel Kilkenny on Monday by members fromn the South Eastern Division. Included are from left, Aidan Quirke, Round Tower, Waterford, Colin Ahern, Ormonde Hotel, Colm Neville, Riverside Hotel, Enniscorthy, Catherina Dempsey, Tower waterford, Michael Griffin, The Kilkenny Hotel, Bettie Mami Burger-Sit, Chairperson, Damien Lynch, Faha Court House and Alicia Maguire, Tower Hotel

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IHF CONFERENCE

Former Jury's Managers, Martin Purtill, The prem Group, Joe Russell, Dick Bourke, Conor Kane, Maldron Molesworth Hotel, Michael Vaughan, President, Stephen McNally, Delato and Martin O'Hagan, The Conrad

Pat and Aoife O'Malley Vaughan's Lodge and Eugene McNamara, Vaughans Lodge

Eamonn and Carol McKeown, Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland, Ruth Andrews, ITOA and John Healy, ITIC

Donogh Davern, Chairman Cork Branch, David Fitzgerald, Mayor of Kilkenny, John Purcell, President, Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce, Paul Gallagher, President, IHF, Stephen Hanna, Chairman, Dublin Branch, Fergal O'Connell, IHAI and James McGinn, President, NIHF

was as a result of bookings made domestically. This perhaps is another knock on effect of the economic downturn: whilst foreign visitors are less likely to travel it seems that the Irish themselves are more likely to holiday at home. Vaughan, who for the last year has served an apprenticeship of sorts as IHF National Vice President also listed tackling the lack of credit available to businesses in Ireland and finding ways to reduce the high cost of doing business here as major goals.

A core part of that strategy will of course be the retention of the 9% tourism VAT rate, and outgoing president Paul Gallagher made an impassioned plea for Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to retain the rate through to 2013. With the Gathering (billed by the government as Ireland’s biggest ever tourism initiative) just a year away, Gallagher insists this will be a key competitive advantage for Ireland as a tourism destination. “At a time when the recovery in overseas visitor numbers is fragile and domestic consumer confidence is weak, the rate reduction has been a very positive driver of demand,” he says. “However, it Eight out of ten hoteliers has to be more than a short term now cite rates as their stimulus, the real benefit is the single biggest concern, medium term certainty it gives on pricing of hospitality products.” while Paul Gallagher Another issue where Vaughan described it as a stealth called for government assistance tax on tourism, was in resolving the skills gap the industry is already beginning to equivalent to 9% per face. The industry currently room per night, that is employs around 180,000people and the government has leading to direct job losses committed to the creation of an in the tourism sector. extra 15,000 jobs in the sector by 2015. But while policy seems to be pointing in one direction, the withdrawal from craft training (FETAC levels 3&4)

by Failté Ireland casts serious doubt on the government’s ability to deliver on this promise.

“We’re facing a skills gap for businesses looking to attract people with the right

“

training” he said. “For example, smaller hotels wouldn’t have the facilities to train someone who has no experience working in a busy kitchen.” As part of a national action plan for hospitality craft-training, Vaughan urged the Government to mandate SOLAS to work with the sector to ensure a sustainable supply of trained workers to fill entry level positions.

Yet it was outgoing president Paul Gallagher who had the opportunity to give the conference what it most wanted to hear - a no hold barred demand that Minister Phil Horan urgently revise local authority charges. Eight out of ten hoteliers now cite rates as their single biggest concern, while Gallagher described it as a stealth tax on tourism, equivalent to 9% per room per night, that is leading to direct job losses in the tourism sector. Describing the valuation office as “clearly unfit for purpose” Gallagher said that after ten years of promises by every shade of political party charges had still not been revisedeven though hotels no longer have the earnings to pay these excessive rates .

Calculating that the government currently rakes in roughly €90 million a year this way, Gallagher called for an immediate 30% waiver of rates for hotels and guesthouses, pending the completion of a countrywide revision of valuations. “Our members have no issue paying local authority rates,” he said, “once they are fair and equitable.”

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OCEAN RACE

Volvo Race - A great opportunity Fáilte Ireland mobilising tourism businesses behind ocean race event Local businesses in Galway are signing up to Fáilte Irelands newly launched Volvo Charter which will guarantee high quality standards and transparent pricing during the Volvo Ocean Race Festival 2012. This was announced as Fáilte Ireland officially kicked off its “Your Volvo - Your Opportunity” mobilisation programme for local tourism businesses today at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The national tourism development agency was launching its Quality, Value and Service Charter ahead of the Volvo Ocean Race finale event which starts in Galway on 30th June.

The Volvo Ocean Race stopover proved a major success for Irish tourism in 2009, generating an estimated economic impact of €55.8m for Galway and Ireland.

According to the Economic Impact Report on the stopover, 650,000 visitors were welcomed at the Race Village and Salthill, and an estimated €36.5m was spent by race spectators from outside the local region. The event itself was also broadcast to a global TV audience of 1.3 billion and a radio listenership over 230 million.

“ The Volvo Ocean Race stopover proved a major success for Irish tourism in 2009, generating an estimated economic impact of €55.8m for Galway and Ireland.

In addition to launching the charter, Failte Ireland hosted a special Volvo Workshop which was attended by all major players and agencies from around the City, to start the process of local mobilisation and coordination of all activities in the lead up to the Volvo finale.

The charter initiative, which was officially launched today by Mayor of the City of Galway, Hildegarde Naughton, was piloted

by Failte Ireland in the West region for the 2009 event and was a huge success, so much so that it was rolled out by Failte Ireland for other subsequent high profile events around the country, including Waterford’s Tall Ships and Clipper in Cork.

The Volvo Charter is being rolled out in partnership with accommodation and food and beverage providers in Galway, and is designed to demonstrate that participating premises are ‘on board’ to welcome visitors to Galway and Ireland during the Stopover.

It guarantees a comfortable, safe, informative and memorable experience as well as good value for money for all visitors during the Stopover. Businesses who are

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Padraig O'Ceidigh, Chairperson Fáilte Ireland West, Cllr Hildegarde Naughton, Galway City Mayor, Enda O'Coineen, Chairman Lets Do it Global, Fiona Monaghan, Head of Operations Fáilte Ireland West & Joe O'Neill, City Manager launching Fáilte Ireland's Volvo Ocean Race Value, Quality & Service Charter in the Radisson Blu Hotel on Thursday.

participating in the initiative will receive Fáilte Ireland Customer Care training which is scheduled to take place in Galway from the 14th to the 18th May, well in time for the event. They will also receive a Charter Sticker to display prominently on the windows of their hotel/bar/restaurant.

Speaking about the Fáilte Ireland Volvo Charter, Mayor of the City Hildegarde Naughton commented, “The Volvo Ocean Race is a great opportunity for positive media coverage for Galway as a versatile and high quality holiday destination with top class service and good value for money. I am delighted to see Failte Ireland reintroducing this Charter initiative for this year’s event and I encourage all tourism businesses to ensure they are involved. I am also very encouraged to see the agency bringing together local stakeholders in an effort to coordinate activity and preparations for the event. It is exactly this kind of joined-up thinking which will go a long way to making the 2012 event another huge success.”

With the support of the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF), Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), many Galway businesses have now committed to the Fáilte Ireland charter. All accommodation providers in County Galway, were encouraged to participate, as long as they were Fáilte Ireland registered and approved. Food and beverage providers were also invited to sign up.

Once compliant, businesses receive a “Volvo Quality Value and Service” Window Sticker and a Customer Charter, which will be prominently displayed at the entrance to their premises. Participation in the initiative also ensures inclusion of their details in Fáilte Ireland’s online marketing campaign for the festival particularly via the websites www.discoverireland.ie/galway and www.discoverireland.ie/volvo Speaking at the launch of the Volvo Quality Value and Service Charter, Fiona Monaghan, Head of Operations with Fáilte Ireland in the West emphasised “Fáilte Ireland is delighted to be the main sponsor of the Volvo Ocean Race’s return visit to Galway. This time we are the final stop-off on the race which began in Alicante last November and the world’s media will descend on Galway from June 30th to July 8th. Today we are launching our ‘Your Volvo - your Opportunity” activation programme to ensure Galway maximises the potential presented by this event and that the city puts its best foot forward in the lead up to and during this prestigious event. Fáilte Ireland will engage in a comprehensive marketing and publicity programme to support the event both in the local community and nationally to ensure every tourism business has a good opportunity to get a slice of the action during the event”.

Ms Monaghan reiterated that Fáilte Ireland will continue to work closely with local businesses and stakeholder agencies to maximise the tourism potential of the Volvo stopover again, and added - “With this charter, we are encouraging everyone involved in tourism in Galway - from hotels and guest houses to restaurants, publicans, retail business and transport services - to use the Volvo opportunity and play their part in showcasing Galway and to put their best foot forward. We look forward to welcoming the race back to Galway and to working with our local industry partners in ensuring it is a major success”.

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