Eoghan O'Mara Walsh argues that the passenger cap at Dublin Airport must be lifted to meet national tourism growth targets outlined in the new national tourism strategy. Despite political rhetoric about not intervening in the planning process, the cap's removal is seen as essential for achieving these goals.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh: Dublin Airport cap must be scrapped if tourism growth targets are to be achieved
But as important as competitiveness is, an arguably more critical issue for the economy is that of connectivity. With no bridges, tunnels or roads off the island, air access is of strategic national importance. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin all committed pre-election to lifting the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, but none were brave enough to state how they would do this.
Ireland needs to develop Cork and Shannon airports, too, and state aid rules should be urgently aligned with EU permissible levels. But further growth at regional airports – as welcome as that would be – will not compensate for lost business to Ireland as a result of Dublin’s restrictions. The next Government needs to get serious about this.
An 80-page policy with 61 recommendations takes careful reading and, like all such documents, it is full of wholesome language, good intentions and worthy claims. The industry pushed, during the consultation phase, for some hard metrics and it is important to see targets have been included.
Dublin Airport Passenger Cap Tourism Growth National Tourism Strategy Political Commitments
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