Hotels Key to Safer Christmas Reopening
Providing a Safe, Controlled Environment for Guests this Christmas
- Call on Government to allow people to travel outside their county during festive period
- Indoor dining in hotels offers a safe alternative this December
Hoteliers are calling on the Government to allow people to travel outside their county and to permit indoor dining in hotels, including for non-residents, as part of its reduced restrictions for reopening society safely this December. Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, President of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) says these measures will ensure hotels can reopen in a safe and sustainable manner, while helping to provide safe, controlled environments for people during the festive season this year.
“It is clear that Christmas will be very different this year. Nonetheless there is still an expectation that people will be able to travel to family outside their county, and hotels can be an important part of the infrastructure in facilitating this safely. We are urging the Government to recognise the important role hotels can play as part of the solution for a safer Christmas.”
"Public health is our number one priority. Hotels provide very safe, highly-controlled, spacious environments with extensive measures in place to minimise the risk from Covid-19. The sector’s proven track record is borne out by statistics from the HPSC, which show that hotels have been associated with very few clusters (0.14%) since March.”
Ms Fitzgerald Kane added: “Furthermore, by allowing indoor dining, including for non-residents, the Government can provide a safer option this year. The controlled environment of hotels can help to minimise the number and extent of social gatherings in home settings, thereby significantly reducing the risk this Christmas.”
The IHF is also asking for at least seven days’ notice of the revised restrictions for December so hotels can plan effectively. “There are five key weeks of trading available to hotels when they reopen at the start of December so it is vital that hotels can operate as fully as possible while obviously staying within the restrictions. This trading period can act as a life buoy in terms of sustaining the early few months of the year. With two weeks of preparatory time remaining, and the necessity for reasonable lead-in times after such a long closure period, realistic advance notice is crucial.”
“Before entering Level-5 restrictions, hotel revenues were already down by over 80% nationally. As a result of the current restrictions, revenues have collapsed even further and there is a real sense within the sector that hotels are being disproportionately affected despite our commitment and proven track record in safeguarding public health,” she said.
Since March, hotels and guesthouses, along with the wider tourism industry, have been decimated by the impact of Covid-19 Government restrictions. Prior to the pandemic, tourism and hospitality supported the livelihoods of some 270,000 people, representing one in ten of all jobs across the entire country – with 70% of these jobs outside of Dublin.
Ms Fitzgerald Kane concluded: “Hotels have shown that they can operate safely during this pandemic. All we are asking is for the opportunity to do so again and in a manner that will help make Christmas memorable for our guests, our teams and their families after such a difficult year for everyone.”
-ENDS-
FOR INFORMATION:
Seán Lawless / Ger McCarthy
Weber Shandwick Mobile: 085 11 676 40 / 086 2333590
Notes to Editor:
Tourism sector at a glance (prior to COVID-19 pandemic)
- 10.9 million out of state visitors
- Tourism accounts for almost 4% of GNP
- Total tourism revenue of €9.2 billion in 2019 (including carrier receipts)
- Tourism industry created over 90,000 new jobs since 2011. Before the COVID-19 crisis it supported almost 270,000 jobs, equivalent to 11% of total employment in Ireland with over 65,000 of these jobs in the hotel sector alone.
- €7.25 billion in foreign exchange earnings
- €1.96 billion in domestic tourism revenue in 2019
- Total of 62,897 hotel and guesthouse bedrooms in Ireland (2019)