Fáilte Ireland unveiled the 2022 plans for tourism recovery, but availability of staff remains a major challenge.
Fáilte Ireland Unveils Tourism Recovery Plans for 2022
Hundreds of tourism providers and stakeholders, from around Ireland met today, 8 February, 2022, in the Convention Centre Dublin to hear of the plans for tourism recovery from Fáilte Ireland.
Chief Executive Paul Kelly said that, “today marks what we hope will be the transition from survival to a sustained and sustainable recovery. Tourism is a building block for regional balance and a critical contributor to social cohesion.
It is essential for creating sustainable communities and a significant generator of jobs in regional and rural Ireland. As a critical part of the national economy, only when tourism recovers can there be a nationwide recovery,” he said.
The priorities include:
- Doubling of investment in domestic marketing to €10million compared to 2019 to encourage people to take additional short breaks among 2022 priorities
- Strong recovery in inbound tourism based on air access projected to be 83% of 2019 levels
- Staffing and cost inflation most significant challenges currently facing tourism sector
- Package of measures unveiled to support industry as it seeks to fill estimated 40,000 vacancies including new Excellent Employer Programme to build appeal of working in tourism and hospitality.
Fáilte Ireland also presented its largest and most robust research undertaken to date on staffing and skills in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Thirty percent of businesses surveyed saying their business could face closure if recruitment challenges aren’t resolved. Mr. Kelly warned that “staffing and competitiveness are the two most significant challenges facing the recovery of tourism in 2022. The pandemic has had a profound impact on the industry’s skill base, with a mass exodus of workers into other industries that reopened earlier.”
Fáilte Ireland will also provide participating businesses with tailored supports to action the key development areas highlighted in the staff survey. The aim is to support businesses to continuously improve their workplace and enhance their appeal to existing and potential employees.
At the meeting today there were sessions on the development of each of the four regions of the country, Dublin, Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and the Hidden Heartlands. They were attended by hospitality and stakeholders who learned of the plans for future developments.