Local hoteliers are lamenting the loss of what would have traditionally been a bumper weekend for them.
The June Bank Holiday weekend normally heralds the start of the busy summer season for many, however this is the fourth Bank Holiday this year now that they’ve been shut.
The Irish Hotels Federation is calling for urgent action from the Government to prevent permanent closures.
South East chairperson, Colm Neville has told Tipp FM that it’s time now for some normality to return:
“We’re probably at the time now I think, when the figures are coming in the right direction. We’ve got to look at the livelihoods of people and make sure we don’t kill the economy.
“We all need the economy, we all deserve to be able to go out and earn a living and then go back out and spend that money in retail and in the various sectors.
“It will affect the whole society if we lose any sector. It’s a real threat to that.”
However, Colm says he does understand why the cautious approach is being taken by authorities:
“I believe we now do have to be a little bit less conservative than maybe we have been but I understand too that it’s very hard to announce an early date [for reopening] and then have to push it back.
“Perhaps announcing a later date and hopefully being able to pull it forward, if all the figures line up that way, will be a better way to go and hopefully it’s what we’ll see this summer.”
