Staycations need to be affordable

I’VE just returned from a highly enjoyable staycation in the west of Ireland.

You often hear it said that there’s no country better than Ireland when we get the weather and this was certainly our experience when we visited Galway on a short family break.

Tourism is starting to recover after some turbulent years. There was a drop in foreign visitors in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, followed by a worldwide recession from 2008 – something of a perfect storm for the hospitality sector.

During the economic downturn there were incredible bargains to be found when it came to hotel packages. Those willing to take midweek or off-season offers were richly rewarded, with dinners and spa treatments thrown in free gratis.

Going on my recent experience, however, good staycation deals are becoming far more elusive, particularly since the schools closed for summer.

While the standard of our hotel was superb and the service was flawless, our three-night stay was simply overpriced (and yes, I did shop around in advance). When we added the cost of eating out each evening, we reckoned we could have jetted off to sunnier climes on a late package deal for a similar amount.

We really need to take a long, hard look at our rip-off culture which is rampant across the tourism sector. One example is the unscrupulous hotels that hike up their room rates when major concerts or sporting events come to town.

On the Aran Islands last week, a mini bus driver quoted me

?¬30 for a round trip no longer than 10km. Even haggling was ineffective and he eventually had to take no for an answer.

Last month I was charged

?¬85 by Iarnrod Eireann for a return train journey to Cork (it would have been even extra for first class!).

I’ve flown to the UK and back for less!

We should be rightly proud of Ireland’s popularity as a tourism destination. Let’s just be careful we don’t get too greedy and make staycations the least viable holiday option.