"Not such a happy St. Patricks day..."

With Paddys day looming (17th March)there is rumblings of unhappiness from within the Irish tourism sector with the news that governmental restrictions are making it harder and harder for potential tourists to obtain the required visas to enter the country...

Irishtimes.com report that "Strict visa requirements for visitors from certain countries are causing “huge problems” for the tourism industry, the body representing coach operators said yesterday...

Gerry Mullins, chief executive, of the Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC) said that while the conditions are not new things have changed...

“In the past, visitors from China would not have made a difference because many were poor and not allowed out of their country. But now they are travelling by their millions and becoming richer than we are,” he said...

Newly wealthy visitors from countries such as China, India and Russia are being refused because of a “strange and stupid system”.

Documentation needed for a Chinese person applying for an Irish holiday visa include six months of bank statements and a letter from their host in Ireland stating that they will support them during their visit...

“Can you imagine booking a room in a Dublin hotel, and then asking the receptionist if the hotel would forward a letter saying they will support you during your visit?” Mr Mullins said business for his members was down by a quarter last year and would be down again this year. Ireland needs new markets and should be exploiting them because the traditional market in the EU, UK and US are going through a “rough time” ...


He asked what was the point of the marketing undertaken by Tourism Ireland in China when there were such strict visa requirements.

One of his members recently spoke to an agent in Indonesia who said he could sell 1,000 coach tours to Ireland this year with 40 people on each tour, if it was not so difficult to get into.

“That is the equivalent of 200,000 bed nights that are lost. In just this one example, we see how our own Government is costing jobs and livelihoods...”

Why? With all that all industries are facing at the moment (with Ireland being particularly hard hit) can these government "pen pushers" not see the irreversible damage that they can do to the tourism industry???

Follow more of this news at http://www.eturbonews.com/14417/strict-visa-rules-causing-huge-problem-irish-tourism-industry

Barticus.

"Death of a ledgend..."

Bad news from the Irish travel industry today as reports show that Budget Travel, Ireland’s biggest operator, is to cease trading today...

The closure will lead to the loss of 172 jobs and the closure of 17 travel agencies.

Almost 750 people are on holiday abroad with the operator.

Up to 380 people were due to fly out on holidays with Budget Travel between tomorrow and Sunday from Dublin and Cork...

But flights have been cancelled and people are being told they can get a refund from the Irish Commission for Aviation Regulation...

Budget Travel managing director Eileen O'Sullivan was quoted by Irish media as saying: “This has been a painful and distressing time for us all and we deeply regret that this situation has arisen...

“We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of this decision especially on those who are currently travelling with us...”

The company was established in May 1975 and had a 30% share of the market...

There are those that blame the recent problems within the Irish tourism sector on the additional aviation taxes, but this all comes down to the general effects of the ongoing global recession proving that despite the calls of many that the worst is over, for many the worst is still to come...

Follow more of this story at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1139656.php

Barticus.

"Ah, go on...."

Aware of the problems facing the poor traveller around the Emerald Isle (Ireland), GotSaga have come with some useful tips to try to keep you from offending the locals...

Great advice for the wandering tourist includes "When accepting gifts, a polite refusal (such as, "no really you shouldn't") is common after the first offer of the item. Usually, this is followed with an insistence that the gift or offer is accepted, at which point your answer is likely to become more recognized...."

Or how about "Most Irish people are quite happy for friendly jibes regarding the Irish love of potatoes and drinking alcohol, however any jokes regarding the potato famine of the 19th Century in which over a million people died, could in some instances cause a similar amount of offence as joking about the September 11th attacks would in the United States...."

For more of these helpful hints, follow http://www.gotsaga.com/saga/detail.php/1773/

Barticus.