Remarks by President McAleese on the occasion of the Annual CERT tourism business forum
Remarks by President McAleese on the occasion of the Annual CERT tourism business forum dublin castle
Is mór an pléisiúir dom bheith i bhur measc inniu ag an ocáid seo agus tá me buíoch díbh as an gcuireadh a thug sibh dom teacht anseo.
I am very happy to be here for the Annual CERT Conference. My thanks to the Chairman of CERT Council, Mr. Eamonn McKeon for the kind invitation and also to each and every one of you for the warm and generous welcome.
The tourism industry has made an enormous impact on our economy over the past ten years - it has truly been one of our best success stories. That success did not come to pass by accident. It is the result of the determination, investment and hard work of many people like so many of you here in this room. Success in this industry allows you to take pride but not to take rest unfortunately. Each year you have come to this conference and each year the story has been different, the context different, the challenges different and this year is no different. The winds of change blow over this industry sometimes as tailwinds, lifting its wings and helping it to soar and sometimes as headwinds, slowing it down, nudging it off course. Each year you meet to try and intuit what lies ahead, to share the wisdom and insight, which will allow you to plan sensibly for the future. There are, as we know things you can plan for and things you cannot as we all learnt in the wake of Foot and Mouth and September 11th.
Whatever those winds bring, you are among the first to feel them and the first to respond. That is why this conference is so important because it provides a breathing space, time out to consider and reflect on the challenges and demands of what is a very fast moving industry. This conference provides a place where you can meet and share wisdom and experience and vision on which a successful future depends. Each of you holds a unique piece of the jigsaw puzzle that will create that future and as those pieces are drawn together, our tourism industry grows stronger, more resilient more robust and more successful.
We are entitled to be very proud of having raised our standards exponentially this past decade but yours is a highly competitive industry and complacency is I’m sure you’ll agree probably your worst enemy. Every country wants a slice of the tourist market. The tourist is bombarded with sales pitches for every nook and cranny on the planet and a few besides. Fashions in tourism destinations are changing constantly increasing choice, opening up new landscapes and the internet brings access right into our living rooms. Yet against the best of competition Ireland has been phenomenally successful in developing its tourism sector. The weather that we complain so much about actually has its own appeal. Our magnificent landscapes, rich culture and reputation for warm friendliness have brought millions of visitors to our shores and each of these things is a precious commodity, a crucial basic building block of this industry. It is an industry where relationships matter and it is heartening that 97% of visitors to our shores cited the friendliness and humour of the Irish people as the key to why they would recommend Ireland to others.
CERT has been working hard to foster that culture of intelligent, genuine and sensitive customer care on which the future of tourism depends at least in part. You have facilitated many women to return to work. You have helped the industry to adapt comfortably to its increasingly diverse recruitment profile with people from all over the world working alongside Irish colleagues. You have built into the tourism infrastructure the training flexibility and adaptability needed to ensure that as the market changes we are ready to deal well with those changes.
The taste of success particularly over the last decade has brought with it a wealth of experience and self-confidence. The feedback from those who visit tells us what we do well and what we need to do better. When we listen to all those voices of experience when we distil them as you are doing here, our tourism industry will be stronger, more resilient and even more successful than before. Your presence at this conference today is a reassuring statement that this industry has a thirst for self-updating, a willingness to share and to listen in order to plan the strategy for tomorrow.
I congratulate everyone involved in the organisation of this important conference. You have a very sacred stewardship of the good name of Ireland. I wish you every success as you make that name a byword for happy holidays and the key to our future prosperity.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.