Failte Ireland - Slan'

Failte Ireland is driving small tourist vendors out of business, with their out dated, petty rules and bully boys tactics.

This week I have spoken with several small tourist vendors who say they are being driven out of business by Failte Ireland.

The following letter have been recieved by a number of small tourist vendors who are struggling to keep their heads above water:

Failte Ireland

Re: Illegal Signs

Dear Sir/Madam

It has come to our attention that you are displaying 'Guest House' signs on your property.

Your premises are not registered with Failte Ireland as a 'Guest House' therefore you are committing an offence under Section 34 of the Tourist Traffic Acts.

The word 'Guest House' is protected title allocated to the premises, which are registered in the register of Guest Houses, maintained by Failte Ireland.

I am aware that you asked to have your premises removed from our register as it was costing you money you could not afford.

However, it will be necessary for you to remove all 'Guest House' sign(s) from your property and any websites and to desist from promoting your premises as a 'Guest House'.

Please remove the signs from your property within the next fourteen days and confirm in writing within this time frame that the signs have been removed.

Yours faithfully


This bully boy letter means that people who are the corner stone of our tourist industry are being forced to spend thousands of Euro that they dont have, in order to remove signs from their small premises. Many feel that Failte Ireland are using bully boy tactics to pressurise small BBs/Guest Houses to pay fees to Failte Ireland or be forced to removed signs that cost thousands of Euro to put in place, also the additional cost of tradesmen as many of these small vendors are older people not fit to take on the work themselves.

We need tourists in Ireland and we need to get back to our fine tradition of being a nation of welcomes, Failte Ireland is out dated, out of touch and needs to be closed down or taken in hand by our political leadership. How dare Failte Ireland threaten decent hard working people with criminalisation for doing nothing more than trying to survive in difficult times. Note that multi-national hoteliers have no such petty obligations.

Notes: Tourist Traffic Act, 1939:

34.-(1) It shall not be lawful for the proprietor of any premises to describe or hold out or permit any such person to describe or hold out such premises as a guest house unless such premises are registered in the register of guest houses and such proprietor is registered in that register as the registered proprietor of such premises.

(2) Any person who acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

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