tourism

‘We are losing business. We know that’ – tourism grapples with refugee crisis

Fáilte Ireland chief Paul Kelly is unqualified in his support for Ireland’s response to the refugee crisis – but says the damage to Irish tourism will be difficult to undo if the state doesn’t act quickly to return hotels to tourism

Tourists take selfies in Dublin: there is ample demand for tourist accommodation, but the influx of refugees and the general housing crisis are limiting supply. Picture: Getty

Paul Kelly knows Irish tourism has had to contend with a “rollercoaster” of external forces over the last two decades.

The chief executive of Fáilte Ireland only took on his current role in 2017, so he wasn’t there for the financial crash, or the 2010 Icelandic volcano explosion that caused the largest air-traffic shutdown in Europe since World War II.

Speaking on the 20th anniversary of Fáilte Ireland’s establishment, however, Kelly is clear: “The biggest ...