Mayo hotelier calls for urgent Government action to help salvage the tourist industry in Ireland, which saw a monumental downturn in 2009.

John Raftery, of the Downhill House Hotel and also Chairperson of the Mayo branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), last week argued that a serious battle must ensue to save the tourism sector following the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showing that overseas visitors from the UK fell by 24% from the previous years.

“The bottom has fallen out of the British tourist market, which is having a significant impact on the tourism sector in Mayo. Not a single meaningful action of substance has been taken by the Government to recover the situation,” said Raftery. Amongst the casualties are the Irish car rental industry, hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions.