Minister Hanafin launches Ógra Fianna Fáil “Holiday At Home” Campaign

Ógra Fianna Fáil has today launched their new campaign to encourage members of the public to holiday at home this year. The Fianna Fáil youth wing were joined by Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Mary Hanafin TD at the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary to outline details of their campaign, which they hope will help turnaround the drop in tourist numbers experienced during the last year.

The most recent figures available from Fáilte Ireland show that total overseas visitors fell by 12% in 2009 and up to €1 billion was wiped off tourism revenue last year when compared with 2008. There has also been a drop of 25% in visitor numbers in 2010 for the first two months of the year, based on Tourism Ireland’s targets.

Pointing to the fact that more than 200,000 people work in tourism in this country, Ógra believes that a campaign to support domestic tourism will help secure employment, keep much needed funds in the economy and also allow Irish tourists to experience many of the hidden gems located right on their doorstep.

Speaking about the campaign, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Mary Hanafin TD said, “Irish tourism has clearly experienced a difficult period over the last year with the drop off in overseas visitors. However, one market that is available to us and has more potential for development is domestic tourism. The domestic market already accounts for 65% of all business in the hotel market and there is no reason why we can’t see that figure increase further in 2010.”

“Often we are inclined to look abroad for beautiful destinations to visit, without taking into account the amazing scenery, entertainment, culture and historic locations all on our doorstep. In that sense, launching this campaign in the shadow of the Rock of Cashel is particularly appropriate. Every year thousands of international visitors come to visit this site of great historic and cultural interest. While we all hope that trend will continue, it would be good to see more Irish visitors coming to explore this site and others around the country.

“This campaign aims to highlight that issue and remind people from all corners of Ireland of all that this country has to offer. I would like to congratulate Ógra on preparing this campaign and I hope that it will be a great success,” Minister Hanafin said.

Her remarks were echoed by Ógra Cathaoirleach, Thomas Byrne TD, “Often we take for granted some of the immense treasures that Ireland has to offer. We look at the ancient ruins, historic castles, beautiful beaches, scenic views, good nightlife and entertainment options available in other countries, without first stopping to realise that we can get all that and more without leaving these shores.”

“When you also consider the great value that is on offer in this country and how important tourism is to the Irish economy, then it is vital to our national interest to encourage more people to holiday at home. The fact is that unfortunately the number of tourist numbers from overseas are down because of the economic difficulties being felt around the world, particularly in our larger tourism markets such as Britain and the US.”

“We can all do our part to help counteract that issue by considering a holiday at home before deciding to travel overseas. We have so much to offer and the Ógra campaign hopes that by highlighting that we will see more Irish people choose to explore their own country this year instead of going further afield,” Deputy Byrne concluded.

Ógra will be rolling out the campaign to various towns and locations around the country in the coming weeks.