Ahead of last year’s budget, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he hadand hotelier Niall O’Callaghan said the industry had not helped itself.
“You try to encourage people to understand that the 9% VAT rate is worth more to you than upping the prices or sporting events or whatever else,” he toldKillarney, County Kerry, Munster, Republic of Ireland, Europe Mr O’Callaghan’s urged people to book well in advance and said there is better value outside of the capital.“You can say, ‘Oh yeah, I saw a hotel in Killarney for €1,200 - it might be a 5 Star hotel or one of the best hotels in the world.“So, there are competitive rates from the Killarney point of view.Mr O’Callaghan said he did not like to “tell people how to run their business” but said he would like to see a “bit more competitiveness” in Dublin during big events.
Prior to the pandemic, out of state tourism expenditure was worth €5.6 billion to the Irish economy and generated €1.8 billion in revenue for the exchequer.