RSS
News


Home Page > News > Tourism website boss asks Irish to ‘Occupy Ireland' rather than travel abroad

Tourism website boss asks Irish to ‘Occupy Ireland' rather than travel abroad

Says massive 40,000 jobs created if Irish vacation in Ireland this year

By
JAMES O'SHEA,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Sunday, January 29, 2012, 11:01 AM
Updated Sunday, January 29, 2012, 11:01 AM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article 4 Comments
See more: News from Ireland  

If the Irish were to spend their holidays on the Emerald Isle instead of traveling abroad, it would be a huge boost to the economy.


The chief executive of a popular vacation booking website in Ireland has urged the Irish public to ‘Occupy Ireland’ and spend their vacation time in Ireland.

Mike Webster of GoIreland.ie claims that were this to happen, 40,000 jobs would be created in the Irish tourism industry.

According to the Irish Times, Webster went on to say that people from the Emerald Isle spend more on their foreign jaunts that in total tourism income (collected from both Irish and foreign tourists) in Ireland.

He pointed to 2010 figures that showed that tourism in Ireland collected €4.6 billion, while Irish tourists spend €5 billion on vacations outside the country.

____________________

READ MORE:

How Patriots quarterback great Tom Brady found his Irish roots

New revelations in Fox TV anchor Greg Kelly rape accusation case

New crackdown on St Patrick’s drunks promised by Hoboken mayor
_____________________

“There is a huge opportunity for Irish people to take this into their own hands and not leave it to the political classes, who will take too long,” he said.

Webster underlined the importance of promoting the excellent vacation options available to the Irish people in their own country.

“Show people that they can get into the car and they are only an hour and a half away from a week’s holiday. We need to highlight the simplicity of it and the value,” he added.

While recognizing that the weather can play an important factor in the decision-making process for any vacation, he is hoping that that the sun shines strong this summer.

“I am positive we will have the best weather,” he said.

​
See more: News from Ireland , Irish Travel
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


4 Comments

See all comments

beachcomber | Jan 30, 2012, 12:44 PM EST
isn't the whole point of a vacation to get away from it all? and the weather does play a huge factor for alot of people...and being so close to sunnier places...you can't blame the irish for wanting a few days out of the damp and scowl. it's a nice idea, but tourism is suffering everywhere.

Report abuse

beachcomber | Jan 30, 2012, 08:26 AM EST
isn't the whole point of going on vacation to "get away"? while it can be quite nice to visit things close by, being an hour from cleveland, i can assure you, i would NOT want to spend a week there for a little R&R. irish tourism, stop acting so desparate...it's kind of embarassing. things are bad all over, not just on the emerald isle. there's not a huge segmant of people that find your weather charming (i am one of them though), so while your optimism is endearing, it's not reality and we all know it.

Report abuse

angrypaddy | Jan 30, 2012, 12:51 AM EST
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???NOW THE TOURIST BOARD KNOW THE RIP OFF THE TOURIST GAME IS UP,SO NOW THEY ARE TRYING TO SELL THEIR CRAP TO THEIR OWN.15DEGREES,RAIN JAN TO DEC GUARNTEED

Report abuse

ciaradexy | Jan 29, 2012, 01:35 PM EST
A week in Spain including flights is cheaper than a week in most parts of ireland and you can never rely on the weather. These are some of the reasons people travel abroad! If B&Bs were cheaper then youd get more Irish people holidaying at home. I travel a lot and most rooms at around the €60-70 a night. Thats crazy money so Ive taken to packing a tent in the back of the car!

Report abuse

 


IrishCentral logo
"Like" IrishCentral
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail