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Irish tourism hit new highs in 2016 with a record number of international visitors and the industry worth over €8 billion annually

12/29/2016

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Thursday, December 29th 2016
 
Review of 2016 & Outlook for 2017 as Industry Publishes Roadmap for Growth to 2025
·      Irish tourism industry now worth over €8 billion in record year
 
·      Overseas visitors’ spend increases 9% to €4.7 billion
·      Tourism now employs 230,000 nationally
·      ITIC publishes new strategy for tourism growth to 2025
 
Irish tourism hit new highs in 2016 with a record number of international visitors and the industry worth over €8 billion annually.
 
Overseas tourists spent €4.7 billion in Ireland in 2016. This represented a 9% increase, or almost €600 million more compared to what was spent the previous year. Irish air and sea carriers earned a further €1.5 billion from tourists. 
 
Domestic tourism demand also picked up generating an estimated €1.75 billion, with a further €300 million earned from visitors from Northern Ireland. 
 
According to the CSO, the number of overseas visitors grew by 10% to 8.8 million - the highest number on record - with all four top source markets recording significant growth. There was an increase of 10% in holiday visitors, while business visitors and those coming to visit friends and relatives (VFR) were up 12%.  
 
“It has been a remarkable year for Irish tourism with record visitor numbers in both volume and value terms. 20,000 new jobs have been created in the sector in the last year and tourism is now Ireland’s largest indigenous employer” Paul Gallagher, ITIC chairman, said.
 
ITIC Chief Executive Eoghan O’Mara Walsh added: “Irish tourism has performed extremely well in 2016, which is testament to the quality and competitiveness of our tourism product and industry. A number of external factors have also been in Ireland’s favour, including increased air access and a weak euro. It is vital that we chart a path for sustainable growth and avoid a return to the peaks and troughs of previous times”. 
 
2017 - Positive outlook despite challenges
Irish tourism businesses are positive about 2017 and are investing heavily in marketing as well as focusing on the need to continue delivering good value for money. The Government decision to maintain the 9% VAT rate on tourism services continues to support Ireland’s competiveness on the back of operating efficiencies and better value offerings from tourism businesses. 
 
The domestic market, which underpins many tourism enterprises, is expected to see further pick-up in the demand for short leisure breaks as personal finances improve. 
 
Despite Brexit concerns and capacity constraints, ITIC believes that the tourism industry can grow by a further 5% in overseas visitors and 7% in export revenue for 2017, given the healthy state of key source market economies and the increased air access into Ireland. 
 
However, growth is not guaranteed and there is much work to be done to underpin and sustain progress to date. Mr Gallagher said: “Tourism has much more potential for Ireland, but only if the right strategies and investment policies are pursued. ITIC believes that, based on anticipated tourism revenue growth, at least a further 7,000 jobs can be created in the tourism industry in 2017. It is one of the few industries that provides regional balance and delivers jobs in all parts of the country”.   
 
Irish Tourism Industry priorities for 2017
 
Brexit; a major concern
The UK decision to exit the EU is a major challenge for Irish tourism. Although its impact has been modest to date, the immediate-term challenge has been the weakening of sterling.
 
Mr Gallagher stressed the need for competitiveness: “As sterling weakens due to the uncertainty over Brexit, it is more vital than ever that Ireland remains competitive. I welcome the Government’s retention of the tourism Vat rate at 9% as this puts Ireland on an even keel with our European neighbours. In fact, 17 of the 19 euro-zone countries have Vat rates of 10% or less”.  Mr Gallagher continued: “The Irish tourism industry too needs to remain competitive and continue to offer value for money and a high quality tourism experience”.  
 
Of significant concern is tourism’s place within any new EU-UK deal. Mr O’Mara Walsh said: “A hard Brexit would be damaging to Irish tourism. It is vital that in the negotiations between the UK and the EU that Irish tourism’s needs are reflected. This particularly relates to the need to maintain the Common Travel Area and the retention of liberalised air access rights.” 
 
Capacity Crunch
Such has been the growth in tourism in recent times that demand has outstripped supply. This is particularly evident in terms of a shortage of hotel capacity in Dublin and other urban centres which risks limiting the ability of Ireland to attract increasing volumes of visitors. Dublin hotels are operating for much of the year at close to full occupancy due to the city’s popularity as a leisure and business destination. ITIC has long advocated that additional capacity is required in the capital city, Ireland’s dominant gateway.  
 
Mr Gallagher said: “Dublin has significant capacity constraints and visitor number targets will not be met unless the deficit in hotel bedroom development is addressed with some urgency.” 
 
He added: “We welcome the fact that up to 5,000 bedrooms are planned for Dublin in the coming years, but construction and development of these new hotels needs to start now. If demand and supply is out of sync, there will always be upward pressure on prices and a loss of competitiveness represents the single largest threat to tourism’s future growth. Should the planned new hotels not materialise, there will need to be policy intervention to stimulate new builds”.  
 
Need for continued investment in tourism 
ITIC has argued for some time that there is inadequate investment by the state in tourism. If tourism is to continue to grow, increase jobs, and provide an economic stimulus nationwide there needs to be increased marketing and product investment. 
 
Mr O’Mara Walsh expressed disappointment with the level of marketing investment in the recent budget: “The Government committed to a restoration of marketing funds and there has been no progress in this regard. Ireland is losing its share of voice internationally and this will detrimentally affect Irish tourism in the near future unless the marketing deficit is addressed with urgency”.   
 
Equally, Mr Gallagher commented that investment in tourism product and infrastructure was at an all-time low. ITIC is calling for a significant increase in tourism infrastructure spending in the upcoming review of the National Capital Plan. According to Mr Gallagher: “The Government needs to increase capital spending on tourism projects to €350 million over the next five years. This is a small fraction of what tourism contributes to the national economy and the investment is badly needed to ensure that there are new things to see and do of scale and international appeal.”
 
Tourism 2025; A New Industry Roadmap for Tourism Growth
 
ITIC today publishes a new roadmap for tourism growth and argues that overseas earnings generated by Irish tourism can be worth €7 billion annually by 2025, a 50% increase on the current export value. ITIC is confident that the sector can deliver on this if the right policies and investment strategies are pursued. Mr Gallagher said: “The current national government tourism targets to 2025 are unambitious and modest. It is high time that a new strategy is put in place for tourism growth that is led by the industry and facilitated by pro-tourism policies from the government”. Mr Gallagher stressed how important a vibrant tourism industry is to Ireland ”Tourism is in a strong place at the moment and now is the time for the Irish tourism industry to be planning ambitiously for the future. As a sector we can add 50,000 more jobs by 2025 if the right strategy is pursued”. 
 
 
ENDS 
 
Tourism 2025; An Industry Roadmap for Growth as well as ITIC’s full year-end Review for 2016 and Outlook for 2017 can be seen at www.itic.ie.  
 
For further information contact:
Richard Brophy, Insight Consultants:  086-3853260
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Chief Executive, ITIC: 086-6057909
Paul Gallagher, Chairman, ITIC: 087-3768500
 
Notes to editors:
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation was founded in 1984 and is the umbrella group representing the leading tourism interests in Ireland. The full ITIC Review of 2016 and Outlook for 2017, as well as details on Tourism 2025 can be seen on www.itic.ie. Tourism is Ireland’s largest indigenous industries and is a critical component of the export economy. 


ITIC’s full review and outlook is available here: http://www.slapbangwallop.com/ITIC-YE16-INCOMPLETE/index.html#top


Key tourism facts:
·       Worth €8.1 billion annually
·       8.8 million international staying visitors in 2016 – a new record
·       Spend by international visitors increased by 9% in 2016
·       Employs 230,000 nationally
·       1 in 9 jobs nationally in tourism & hospitality sector
·       Average spend per US visitor while in Ireland: €790 
·       According to Fáilte Ireland, every €1m of tourist expenditure supports 34 tourism jobs, for every €1 spent by tourists 24.5c is generated in tax
​


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​THE SILVER LINING IN MONAGHAN: SILVER HILL FOODS OPENS NEW CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN EMYVALE CO.MONAGHAN

12/5/2016

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  •  ​SILVER HILL ANNOUNCES OUTPUT HAS DOUBLED SINCE 2011
  • 52 NEW JOBS ALREADY CREATED
  • COMPANY FORECASTS GROWTH TO DOUBLE AGAIN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
 
 
A new Centre of Excellence was unveiled today by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed for Silver Hill Foods in Emyvale, Co. Monaghan. Honoured guest Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys also attended today’s opening of the impressive 1,700 square metre facility, which represents a €3 million investment.
 
Founded in 1962 by Ronnie and Lyla Steele, Silver Hill Foods has achieved tremendous success in recent years, in both domestic and overseas markets. This increased growth is due, in large part, to the enlightened decision made by Stuart Steele to recruit a professional management team to assist them in growing the already hugely popular brand.  The Monaghan-based company is now reaping the rewards of this decision, more than doubling production in the last five years from 36,000 ducks per week to 82,500 per week.
 
Marked success has already been achieved amongst Asian customers due to the superior roasting qualities of the Silver Hill duck. The duck, which is processed by hand, had already become the pre-eminent product in London’s Chinatown. It now also commands a premium price in Singapore, where chefs have christened Silver Hill’s unique breed of duck ‘The Mother of All Duck’. Currently exporting 5,000 duck per week across more than 20 high-end restaurants in Singapore, Silver Hill aims to utilize its new state-of-the-art facilities to facilitate further expansion into the South East Asian market.
 
Speaking at the opening of Silver Hill Foods’ new Centre of Excellence, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, TD said: “I am delighted to be here today at the opening of the Silver Hill Centre of Excellence. The development of this centre is another important milestone in the growth of the Irish food industry, which is Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturing sector. The Government through my Department, Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, is delighted to have played an important role in supporting the growth and development of Silver Hill which is one of the stars of Ireland’s growing agri-food sector. The Poultry sector is one of a number of important sectors that will play a part in Ireland’s economic recovery and has set itself  ambitious targets in the national “Food Wise 2025” strategy. Innovative approaches such as we see here today from Silver Hill will be key to the realisation of these growth targets”.
 
Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD added: “The agri-food sector is an important source of jobs and economic activity in Cavan and Monaghan and Silver Hill’s success is good for the region, as it is a significant local employer. The company’s plans to expand into new markets in Asia show that Silver Hill Foods is a company with growing global ambition. Indeed, the company’s growth over the last five years has been extremely impressive. I would like to pay tribute to the Steele family for their incredible vision for the company and to compliment the team under Micheál Briody for their outstanding performance, and I wish them every success with their expansion for the future”.
 
Silver Hill CEO, Micheál Briody explained: “We are the producer of the best duck in the world and this is based on the feedback from our customers. The success and reputation of our branded duck in Ireland, the UK and Singapore is stimulating further sales leads in new overseas markets across Asia.
 
“The new facility will allow us to meet further demand in Asian markets and expand into new markets such as Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia. To ensure we meet demand, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of increasing the number duck processed per week from 82,500 – 150,000 in the next five years. This will be a further stepping stone to achieving the company’s overall mission to supply quality duck and duck products to outlets across the world.”
 
“Today’s opening marks an exciting new chapter for the company. We have achieved substantial growth in recent years and will now embark on a further expansion plan, aiming to double production once again.  I wish to take this opportunity to thank Minister Creed and Minister Humphreys for attending today’s event. I also wish to extend my thanks to Enterprise Ireland, The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Bord Bia, all of whom have been very supportive of our growth strategy.”
 
Silver Hill, which manages all areas of production from hatching, processing, cooking and packaging, has reported significant progress through expansion into new overseas markets. The 70% export led company currently supplies 24 countries, including Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, UAE and Singapore. This increase in performance has prompted the creation of 52 new jobs since 2013 and the addition of 21 contract growers across 8 countries, both north and south of the border. Whilst continued focus on the domestic retail market, which has quadrupled in Ireland in recent years, has cemented Silver Hill as the fastest growing product in the poultry category in Ireland and the UK.
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