Hotels must be part of a safer Christmas reopening
- Hotels cite proven track record in providing safe, controlled environments for guests
- A safe reopening can minimise the risk of increased infection rates
The Irish Hotels Federation has reiterated its call on the Government to include hotels as part of the core infrastructure for reopening society on 1st December. Tim Fenn, Chief Executive stated that Irish hotels are proven to provide safe, controlled environments. “Hotels can help to ensure a safer reopening thereby minimising the risk of increased infection rates,” he said. Hoteliers are calling for people to be allowed to travel outside their county and for in-door dining in hotels, including for non-residents, to be permitted as part of the reduced restrictions from 2nd December.
“Public health is the number one priority for hotels, and this is reflected in the statistics from the HPSC, which show that hotels have been associated with very few clusters (0.14%) since March. Hotels provide very safe, highly-controlled, spacious environments with extensive measures and training in place to minimise the risk from Covid-19.”
“We understand that Government is facing some significant challenges in reopening society in a safe way. There is a general acceptance that this Christmas will be very different. Nevertheless, people still expect to be able to celebrate the festive season in a meaningful way. Overly complicated or onerous restrictions could be counterproductive, and increase, rather than reduce the risk from Covid-19. The Government must strike the right balance this Christmas to ensure full public cooperation.”
“We are urging the Government to recognise the important role hotels can play as part of the solution for a safer Christmas. Hotels are totally committed to supporting and ensuring a safer reopening. This five week trading period around Christmas can act as a life buoy in terms of sustaining many hotels for the early few months of next year so it is imperative for hotels to be able to open as fully as possible for the benefit of their guests and their teams,” Mr Fenn concluded.
-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)