Fáilte Ireland is to close its office in Dublin Airport Terminal 2 in June, saying the closure is due to a lack of demand.
Described as "senseless" by Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien, he commented that "closing the only information office for tourists to approach at our country’s largest airport makes little sense when if anything, we should be increasing our efforts to attract and accommodate more tourists" adding that "we cannot afford to neglect the overall quality of the tourism offering in the country", reports thejournal.ie.
The closure will see staff redeployed to the city centre where they "can have the greatest effect on visitor decision-making", providing "an enhanced service" which will result in a "greater impact when influencing where tourists go and certainly assist us as we ensure our guests fully maximise their enjoyment of an Irish holiday," said Gary Breen, head of visitor services with Fáilte Ireland.
Despite Irish tourism's successful year, Fáilte Ireland’s director of business development Paul Keeley commented: "We need to remember that, as a small open tourism economy, we are at the mercy of external events. We need to maintain our competitiveness, develop further our current stable of branded visitor experiences and ensure that we target those overseas markets which offer the most reliable returns in the near future.”
