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15.10.09
CSO confirms 600,000 fewer visitors - Axe the taxCSO confirms slump in visitors since Irish Govt €10 tourist tax introduced
Ryanair calls on Govt to axe the €10 tourist tax
Ryanair, the World’s favourite airline, today (15th Oct 09) welcomed the CSO traffic figures which confirm that 123,000 (13%) fewer visitors travelled to Ireland in August as the Govt’s €10 tourist tax devastates Irish tourism, even during the summer peak. Ryanair’s August traffic grew by 19%, over 1.1m new passengers, which disproves the Govt’s false claim that this decline is due to the recession.
Ryanair warned that unless the Irish Government’s €10 tourist tax is scrapped, then the fall in Irish visitor numbers will worsen during winter, as more flights, routes and services are cut from the Government’s high cost Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“CSO figures show a 13% drop in visitor numbers in August and 11% for the year to date. The loss of 600,000 visitors so far this year confirms that the collapse in Irish tourism is accelerating as the €10 tourist tax makes Ireland an uncompetitive tourist destination.
“In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges, in some cases to zero, in order to stimulate tourism. Ryanair has expanded in these countries including our recent announcement of 43 new routes to/from Spain this winter. The Irish Government cannot grow Irish tourism by taxing it. We must axe this stupid €10 tourist tax and start welcoming visitors, not taxing them”.
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