Ryanair criticises ITIC Plans for Tourism 'Turnaround'

Ryanair, Ireland’s only growing airline, today (28th Jan) rejected the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation’s (ITIC) “Turnaround Plan” for the Irish tourism industry as more of the same failed strategy from a unrepresentative tourism quango controlled and run by current and former executives of the DAA airport monopoly.

At a time when Irish tourism is in the high cost toilet, suffering under a Government tourist tax, and yet another 15% increase (this year) in the DAA monopoly’s already high airport fees, ITIC rolls out another useless research paper calling for more “tourism spending”, a “high level task force” and more of the failed formula of “tourism ambassadors” and the “diaspora”, without addressing the fundamental problem in Irish tourism, which is the Government’s crazy tourist tax, the DAA monopoly’s high fees, and its Taj Mahal empty facilities.

Ryanair regrets this tired, failed strategy. If “high level task forces” or “tourism ambassadors” actually delivered anything, then Irish tourism would be booming. It is extraordinary that the ITIC quango, which is nothing more than a home for bewildered ex DAA Managers can publish this same old strategy, without one mention of the Irish Government’s tourist tax, or the DAA’s high fees and its unnecessary T2 facility.


Speaking at ‘Holiday World’, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“The ITIC is just another useless DAA funded quango. It doesn’t represent the tourism industry, it has never delivered any tourists, and as their latest sad strategy document demonstrates, they haven’t a clue how to grow Irish tourism either.

We hope the next Government will stop wasting time on these useless quangos and their failed strategy of “spending more money” on useless tourism ambassadors or even the more useless diaspora. The problems of Irish tourism are this Government’s failed tourist tax and the DAA’s high fees, which have seen visitor numbers collapse over the past two years.

“Ryanair has a better and more successful strategy:
1. Scrap the failed tourist tax.
2. Break up the high cost DAA monopoly and allow competition to deliver where the DAA has failed.
3. Shut down useless quangos like ITIC, which deliver nothing but vacuous reports peddling the same failed strategies that didn’t work in the 1970’s, the 1980’s or the 1990’s either.”

Sometimes i think i have logged onto the wrong forum and accidentally entered 4uturePoliticians.com

Ryanairflyer wrote:Sometimes i think i have logged onto the wrong forum and accidentally entered 4uturePoliticians.com

It's very heavy reading isn't it?

I think the only part I understood was the 3 points forwarded by Ryanair at the bottom :$

Another good one from MOL to travel agents :

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0129/1224288527387.html

Interesting :

He was asked whether Ryanair “incentivises” its check-in staff to hit people with excess baggage charges? “No,” he said, before pausing. “They do get a share of revenues to make sure they implement our policies,” he said, adding this could not be considered an incentive.