Dear Minister Hanafin,

I was astounded to read in the Irish Times on August 7, 2010 your assessment of the biggest problem in Irish tourism from a tourist’s point of view. It reads:

“She said, however, the main concern from a tourist point of view was the cost of “incidentals”, such as cups of coffee.”

I don’t know who is supplying you with statistics but they are completely off base when it comes to knowing what tourists’ concerns are. I have been involved with tourism to Ireland for over 37 years. As an Irish-American specializing in travel to Ireland I deal with tourists who are visiting Ireland day in, day out. As the author of a guidebook about Ireland and as an Ireland trip planner, I visit Ireland at least twice a year for a month or more at a time. I am subject to the same problems that any other tourist visiting Ireland is. I see things from two different viewpoints – that of a tourist and as someone who promotes Ireland and whose business revolves around Irish tourism.

I have my finger on the pulse of “real tourists” who are dealing with every aspect of planning their trips – from airfare to lodgings to sightseeing to food to transportation. Whatever survey supplied the info used in your assessment of tourism’s biggest problem is complete lunacy.

Every single one of my clients, my readers and my forum members agrees that the biggest problem for tourists visiting Ireland is renting a car. They often refer to it as a "nightmare". It is not just the tourists that I deal with personally that report such problems. The Internet is rife with horror stories of ripped off tourists, problems with car rentals, overcharging, arcane rules, etc. The list goes on and on.

Renting a car in Ireland is the biggest concern and absolute worst part of planning a trip to Ireland. Now it is getting worse by the moment.  

The only sector of Irish tourism that I notice is not responding to the current economy are the car rental companies. Their rates seem to have doubled or tripled since last year. (Yes, I am aware of the car shortage – but there is also a tourist shortage to even it out.)

Currently car rental companies are very cleverly stopping American and Canadian tourists from using their credit card insurance for CDW.

When tourists use their credit card insurance in Ireland and decline CDW it saves them a lot of money. Depending on the company, CDW and Super CDW can double or triple the price of a car rental. It is no wonder that tourists spend a lot of time shopping for the one credit card that will actually still cover them in Ireland. (Ireland is one of the few countries in the world where most credit cards refuse to cover tourists car rental insurance.) However, informed tourists know that some World MasterCards in the USA and some Visa cards in Canada will cover CDW.

Recently car rental companies have slipped new rules into their "fine print". I had a very rude awakening in April 2009 when I rented from Budget. Between the time I reserved the car and picked it up at Dublin Airport new "rules" had been implemented. Even though Budget allowed me to use my World MasterCard to decline CDW they insisted that I be charged a 2,000 euro deposit plus 25 euro and VAT. Despite being an expert on travel to Ireland, Budget caught me off-guard with this one!

Formerly, car rental companies put a "hold" on credit cards. This meant that a certain amount was blocked on the credit card but an actual charge was not made. Since Budget actually "charged" me and since I was in Ireland for close to a month, I had to pay my credit card bill during that time period and pay the 2,000 plus extras. Since the car was returned undamaged I was credited back the 2,000 (but not the 25 euro plus VAT) at the end of my rental.

Now other car rental companies are jumping on the "Rip-off the Tourists" bandwagon. They are making it impossible to decline CDW by adding outrageous deposit charges to their fine print.  Deposits for declining CDW go from 2,000 euro up to 15,000 euro and even more. Many people don't even have credit limits that high. Since tourists cannot afford those charges it forces them to pay for CDW. These charges did not exist two years ago.

Why now? Do the car companies need the extra money they make from insurance to see them through the bad economy? To me it seems that they are finding a very clever way to eliminate credit card coverage of CDW. Do they still accept it? Yes. But they are making it impossible for the average tourist to use by insisting on outrageously high "deposits".

Lest you think that this is an isolated incident and that tourists are not concerned about this matter I invite you to look at various forums all over the Internet. Tourists today are savvy and know about what is happening. They are not happy. Some are even wondering whether they should visit Ireland or go elsewhere.

Ireland Travel Forum: http://ireland.activeboard.com/forum.spark?aBID=65127&p=3&topicID=29313409

Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k2959118-Car_rental_CDW_extortion_where_will_it_end-Ireland.html 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k2990539-Dan_Dooley_Rental_Care_Nightmare-Ireland.html

Fodors:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/ireland-car-rental-confusion.cfm

Frommers: http://www.frommers.com/community/forum.cfm?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat:EuropeForum:0EE6B332Discussion:6ca43383-a095-4d01-ac9a-4c3224901860&plckCurrentPage=0

This quote from Fodor's is especially interesting: "Car Hire is the bane of Irish Tourism -- what I refer to as "Kissing the Frog" -- as in, 'If you kiss a frog, first thing in the morning, nothing WORSE can happen for the rest of the day.' It is my sincere hope that the Irish government will establish smple, staight-forward guidelines to properly regulate the Car Hire Industry before the manage to alienate and lose their lucrative tourism appeal." http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/questions-for-those-whove-used-autoeurope-and-world-mc-in-ireland.cfm

There are many other discussions of car rentals if you use the search boxes on various forums or google. But perhaps the “ostrich with its head in the sand” approach works best for Tourism Ireland.

I invite Tourism Ireland to spend some time observing people arriving off flights at car rental desks. Tourists are shell-shocked when they find out the extra charges. There is outrage, loud discussions and finally resignation as tourists realize that in order to drive a car in Ireland they will pay through the nose and be ripped-off for charges they never expected. Even experienced travelers are now being surprised.

This quote from an experienced multi-trip tourist to Ireland concerning car rentals is telling: "In my opinion everthing else is 'Bait and Switch', deceptive smoke and mirrors, used to 'milk' the typically exhausted, disoriented and nervous tourist for extra profit after they've lured them in with low-balled rental quotes."

For decades it has been a free-for-all for Irish car rental companies. It is long past time for them to be regulated by Ireland. They should all follow the same rules. They should not be allowed to rip-off tourists and thus chase people away from visiting Ireland. Change is definitely needed. The Irish car rental industry needs regulation.

I realize that this letter is a total waste of my time and yours. But I at least owe it to my readers and clients to address the problem. I can tell them that the tourism authorities have been informed. And when they ask me why nothing has been done I will let them know that the car rental companies are major stakeholders in Tourism Ireland.

If they have a complaint they can write letters to you or the Car Rental Council and they will get a nice letter in return. But they will not be helped. I do not think things will change in my lifetime. Perhaps only if the EU gets involved and makes all member nations abide by the same rules, will changes take place. 

In conclusion “cups of coffee” as tourists’ main concern is utterly ridiculous. Let’s get real! Renting a car in Ireland is the biggest challenge a tourist faces.

Sincerely,

Michele Erdvig

P.O. Box 862194

Marietta Georgia 30062 USA

www.IrelandYes.com