The Government has confirmed that the €3 travel tax will be retained until a review next spring. The tax will be utilised to support inbound tourism.

According to the Jobs initiative, “to revitalize the tourism industry”, the Government intended to eliminate the air travel tax provided an agreement be reached with the airlines to bring additional passenger numbers. However, according to the Department of transport, Tourism and Sport it was not possible to secure solid commitments from the airlines on inbound routes or capacity.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD said following discussions with the airlines, he “could not agree to foregoing significant revenues in taxes without a solid commitment from the airlines on the restoration of key in-bound routes and capacity”. Given economic circumstance, “airlines were not in a position to make commitments on increased capacity”. 

In a recent article authored by Head of Hospitality Management and Tourism at DIT and board member of Fáilte Ireland Dominic Dellane analyses the impact of the economic downturn on the Tourism sector and offers proposals on how it can survive in the future. To view this article amongst others click here.