*Dermot Kelly, co-owner of Shannon Springs Hotel. Photo by John Mangan

Clare hoteliers are calling for urgent Government support for the tourism sector as hotel bookings plummet due to Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions.

A new survey, from the Industry Hotels Federation (IHF), has revealed the brunt of additional Government restrictions, resulting in occupancy rates of 21 per cent for October and 11 per cent for November in the Mid-West. Due to a decline of 84 per cent in overseas visitors noted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in August 2020; 8,800 tourism (75%) jobs are at risk across Clare and nearly 36,000 jobs at risk across the wider region.

Tourism plays a vital economic role across Clare and the wider region. Prior to COVID-19, Clare’s tourism and hospitality industry supported 12,000 jobs and generated €266 million in revenue annually for the local economy.

Clare Hoteliers have outlined a number of urgent Government measures required to safeguard Irish tourism as part of this year’s Budget. Firstly, Clare Hoteliers are calling on the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) rates of support to be increased to the previous levels of €350/€410 per week for businesses that can demonstrate a 50% reduction in turnover for a 12 month period. Secondly, there are calls for the tourism Vat to be reduced to 9%, ‘to assist recovery and secure a viable and sustainable future for tourism.’ VAT on Irish Hotels is currently the second highest in Europe and higher than 30 European Countries.

Additional liquidity measures are also sought to help fund hotels during the coming months as a result of the cash flow lost out due to COVID-19 restrictions, including extension of the moratorium on bank term loans from 6 months to 12 months. Finally, hoteliers are calling on a local authority rate waiver to be extended for tourism businesses to coincide with COVID-19 interruption and for a minimum of 12 months. Hoteliers feel that payment of local authority rates should be based on reduced levels of activity due to the crisis and until the industry has recovered.

Calls for additional supports to be provided to Shannon Airport have been made in light of cuts from several major airlines and the underlying threat of many that are looking to follow suit.

Dermot Kelly, Chair of the IHF Shannon Branch expressed his worry with the present situation at Shannon Airport. “We are hugely concerned about the recent decision by United Airlines and Delta not to resume flights from Shannon International Airport in 2021 and the risk that Aer Lingus will move aircraft serving UK and US routes to other airport hubs. This is further compounded by Ryanair’s threat to close their Shannon base. If these hubs are closed this will have a detrimental impact on the West and Mid-West regions for future growth of regional Ireland.”

“We must focus on ways to restore international travel safely as soon as possible – a market that equates to 70% of our market base annually. In immediate term, this will require an urgent alignment of our national travel policy with the framework being adopted by the EU. This must be backed up by an effective testing and tracking regime to facilitate safe travel and protect the health and livelihoods of all,” the co-owner of Shannon Springs Hotel added.

Related News

electoral chair debate 21-11-24 violet-anne wynne 4
Ex TD Wynne says she cannot pay this week's rent of €300 & 'is going to people who lend money & add interest'
play in pink kilrush 1
Kilrush golfers swing behind Play in Pink for cancer research
Snn Ryanair 1_cropped
Ryanair recruiting for 35 cabin crew roles in Shannon
weather warning
High temperatures reaching 30°c this weekend

Advertisement

Latest News
weather warning
High temperatures reaching 30°c this weekend
clare rd cycle scheme 1
'Ennis is choked with cars' - Clare Greens hail transport plan as 'visionary'
joe cooney jerry buttimer orlaigh thompson 1
Irish Seed Savers contributed €115k to local economy in 2024
mill rd traffic lights 1
'Staying stuck in traffic means staying stuck in the past' warn Better Ennis
murt mcinerney 1
'Doonbeg was the centre of Murt McInerney's universe and he was at the heart of it'
Premium
liam o'connor 1
Kilmaley's Liam left for Australia in 2012 and now runs successful Perth-based machinery & contracting business
Please Credit Photograph by Eamon Ward
'The Council want to rip up roads' - Flynn says Ennis transport plan is anti-car
mary howard mayor
Councillors stopped from having vote on Ennis transport plan with Mayor Howard coming under fire in first meeting
kerry v clare 04-05-25 manus doherty 1
Clare GAA make extra profit with sale of Roslevan house & officers commit to fight 'tooth & nail' against changes to Munster SFC
harvey's quay parnell street car park taxi rank 1
Reference to paused Ennis 2040 projects to be removed from transport plan

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

Advertisement