Dublin-a-Collective-Strategy-for-Tourism-Growth

Executive SummarySince 2007, when 4.5 million visitorsfrom overseas brought €1.45 billioninto Dublin, the city and region hasexperienced a decline in touristnumbers and revenue. Touristnumbers in 2012 were down 18%from the 2007 peak, and revenueswere down 12.6%. Over that period,Dublin has lost tourist business tocities that are positioned with greaterclarity, stronger impact and morecompetitive appeal.This highlights the need for a newtourism strategy for Dublin, underpinned by acompelling new Dublin brand proposition toredress this competitive deficit.The Grow Dublin Taskforce was establishedin late 2012 with the aim of identifying how tobring substantial growth in tourism to Dublincity and region in the period to 2020. This was asenior tourism sector group representing majorstakeholders in the public and private sectors.It consulted extensively throughout the tourismsector in Dublin City and Region in order toachieve consensus for the way forward.The Taskforce conducted extensiveresearch among visitors and potential visitorsin key markets to determine their interestsand motivations, and to identify the ways inwhich the Dublin offering addresses them.Based on that research the Taskforce setabout developing a strategy to return Dublinto growth, underpinned by a new, compelling,and authentic Dublin proposition. This strategyand the new proposition will provide the basisfor mobilising all stakeholders – public bodies,private enterprise and citizens – in developingand delivering a memorable visitor experience.Throughout this document ‘Dublin’ refers tothe wider Dublin region, comprising Dublin CityCouncil, Fingal County Council, South DublinCounty Council and Dún Laoghaire-RathdownCounty Council.The Challenge for DublinTourism is important to Dublin – in terms ofrevenue from visitors and the jobs that it creates,as well as the contribution that it makes to thelives of people living in the wider Dublin area,comprising Dublin City and Region. However,Dublin is underperforming against its potential:although the last 2-3 years have shown thebeginnings of a recovery, awareness of Dublinand what it offers the visitor is not well-knownin our main potential markets; tourism to Dublinhas declined since its peak in 2007; and mostsignificantly, Dublin has slipped behind its maincity competitors in Europe, cities that haveshown sustained levels of 5-8% growth to whichDublin must aspire. Returning to 2007 levelsand accelerating growth beyond this peak is anurgent priority for Dublin. This strategy sets outa clear roadmap for growing Dublin’s tourism inthe years ahead, driven by an ambition to catchup with and exceed the growth levels of itscompetitors.3 Destination Dublin: A Collective Strategy for Tourism Growth to 2020

Throughout this document ‘Dublin’ refers tothe wider Dublin region, comprising Dublin City Council,Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Counciland Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.4

The OpportunityWhile tourism into Dublin clearly benefits Irelandas a whole, Dublin needs to differentiate itselfas a ‘must-visit’ destination for anyone visitingIreland. In view of the growing trend towardsmore trips of shorter duration - particularlyto cities - Dublin must distinguish itself as astand-alone city destination and an aspirationalEuropean short-break destination. This is wherethere is a significant opportunity for Dublin: tocombat a low level of awareness of what Dublinoffers and communicate the variety and vibrancyof Dublin’s attractions to a growing number ofpotential visitors in key target markets, wherereturn on investment is likely to be greatest.A Visitor-Focused Strategy• The Grow Dublin Taskforce identified fivesectors that offer potential for significantgrowth and the best return on investment:‘Social Energisers’ – young couples andadult groups looking for excitement, newexperiences, and fun, social getaways tonovel destinations.• ‘Culturally Curious’ – mostly older couplesor solo travellers with time (and money) tospend.• Conference and incentive visitors, whoseexpenditure is amongst the highest ofall visitors and who are more prone tovisit in times when cash flow for Dublinbusinesses is critical – in the shoulder andoff-seasons.• Cruise visitors, who come to Dublin aspart of a European cruise.• Event visitors, coming to Dublinspecifically to attend an event or festival,whether sporting, cultural, business or anyother type of event.Focusing on these sectors represents a strategicdecision to concentrate limited investment costeffectivelyin attracting Dublin’s best prospectswhere the greatest return on investment is likelyto be generated. Other leisure segments can beexpected to follow as a result of success withSocial Energisers and the Culturally Curious, whoare typically early adopters of trends.A New Dublin PropositionHaving conducted extensive research in overseasmarkets to find out what prospective visitorslook for when choosing a destination and havingconsulted Dublin stakeholders to assess Dublin’spotential for meeting visitors’ requirements, theGrow Dublin Taskforce distilled these findingsinto a proposition that captures Dublin’s uniqueappeal for visitors:‘Dublin is the vibrant capital citybursting with a variety of surprisingexperiences – where city livingthrives side by side with the naturaloutdoors.’This proposition, the elements in it, and thelanguage through which it is articulated willpermeate all our communications with ourtarget markets. We envisage stakeholders inthe industry will adopt it in their own marketingcollateral; Dubliners will use it when talkingwith friends and colleagues abroad; experiencedevelopers will use it when designing newprojects. N.B. As a proposition, this is asummation of Dublin’s core competitive appeals,whose purpose is to guide the way in whichDublin is projected. It is not a marketing sloganor tagline.A New Way of Workingto Achieve GrowthThe Grow Dublin Taskforce clearly identifiedthat future success will depend on collaborationand cooperation between the various publicbodies, industry groups, and service providerswith an interest and stake in the tourismeconomy to an extent that has not happenedoptimally before. Together, the participants inthe Grow Dublin Taskforce have subscribed to aunifying way forward to grow Dublin’s tourismbased on the new Dublin proposition:‘We will work together to unlockDublin’s vibrancy and diverse,surprising experiences.’‘future successwill depend oncollaboration& cooperationbetweenthe variouspublic bodies,industry groups,and serviceproviders…’5 Destination Dublin: A Collective Strategy for Tourism Growth to 2020

The OpportunitySummary TableGrowth in overseas spending (% pa) 8.6Growth in employment* (% pa) 7.6Growth in employment* (000s, cumulative) 19,600Additional Tax RevenueAdditional Overseas RevenueTABLE 1In this scenario, if Dublin were to perform atthe same level as the top quartile of Europeancities in the years 2008 to 2012, we could expectvisitor numbers to grow by 7% a year, and visitorspending to increase by around 8.6% a year. Thetotal number of visits would reach 6.2 millionby 2020, representing a 70% increase on 2012and a near 40% increase on the 2007 peak.International tourist spending in Dublin wouldalmost double to just under €2.5bn.Growth on this scale would require asignificant increase in accommodation capacity.If the additional accommodation capacity was tobe concentrated in hotels, then the number ofrooms would need to increase by 25%-30%.€ 775 million€ 1.19 billionAction PlanThe thrust of this strategy is to maximisetourism numbers and value, in order to growthe economy of Dublin and thereby ultimatelycontribute to an improvement in the qualityof residents’ lives over time, as a result of theincrease in foreign exchange and tax revenue. Theplans developed by the Grow Dublin Taskforceaim to achieve this between now and 2020. Theyinclude specific programmes for each sector,cross-sector enabling projects, and hygienecriticalprojects.Sector-specific programmesSector-specific programmes are designedto address the development of the keysectors: Social Energisers, Culturally Curious,‘promotable’ business tourism, events, and cruisetourism. These include:• ‘Dublin Now Plus’: Expansion of the‘Dublin Now’ Pilot Action Plan intomainland Europe and US. This Action Planhas been centred on three work streamsdeveloped to overcome barriers to growth:industry engagement and collaboration;digital content and strategy; and in-marketactivation.• Bringing Dublin to life: Dublin’s diversitywill be collated into a coherent andaccessible experience-developmentframework under key themes across Dublincity and region (urban and extra-urban).This will drive both the evolution ofsegment-focused experience developmentsand Dublin’s marketing communications.Core values of the new Dublin brandproposition will be integrated throughoutto convey a sense of variety, vibrancy andsurprise. The framework will also provideDubliners with new ways to engage withtheir city and region and enable them tomediate and interpret it more effectively tovisitors.• Dublin – a world-class business tourismdestination: 70% of business visitorsto Ireland travel to Dublin. In 2011,international conferences accounted foralmost 96,000 overseas visitors to Irelandand a revenue yield of approximately€135 million to the Irish economy, thebulk of which is spent in Dublin. Dublin,however, is far from fulfilling its potential.The city is well furnished with venues,accommodation, facilities, services andattractions. We aim to position Dublinin the world’s top tier of conferenceand incentive destinations, by targetingconference organisers and potentialdelegates as well as incentive planners.7 Destination Dublin: A Collective Strategy for Tourism Growth to 2020