Some tourist attractions in the west of Ireland have been reduced to a "zip through" by tour companies that operate day trips from the capital, a Fianna Fáil TD for Co Clare has claimed.
The party's spokesperson on tourism, Cathal Crowe, criticised bus tour companies in how they operate in counties such as Clare and Galway, saying they stop to allow customers to take selfies at certain scenic spots and "on they go" afterwards.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Crowe described a situation where the tours make one stop in the county and leave again, adding that this had been happening for years.
He said: "Some of those iconic stops, like Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher, have been reduced to a photo stop.
"These trips begin on the quays in Dublin at around 7.30am and you're back in Dublin for your dinner. You get lunch somewhere in Clare or in Galway."
He was also critical of driving habits of some bus tour drivers and claimed that drivers do not stay on the assigned route in order to allow customers get better quality photos.
"These tour buses are given a certain route on which to travel by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and some of them are openly flaunting that," Mr Crowe said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Speaking on the same programme, chairperson of www.cyclist.ie Neasa Wellby, said that some roads are becoming more challenging to cycle on due to the volume of traffic in north Clare.
She said: "We avoid the national roads and the regional roads at all costs because they’re just a nightmare.
"One of the big things that’s impacting these routes at the moment is tourists being directed by Google Maps down these local routes to avoid the traffic.
"We’re limited in where we can go in the Burren and in north Clare because of these main tourist routes."
In a statement to RTÉ News, Ruth Andrews, the CEO of the Incoming Tour Operators Association Ireland (ITOA), said her members bring in touring groups who are on long stay visits to Ireland.
She said: "Package holidays are fully inclusive incorporating the wide variety of tourism products.
"Our members bring visitors that absolutely support local tourism businesses, who stay in local communities and are 'slow' tourism by coach.
"On that basis we don’t bring tourists to locations purely for a photo stop or that zip through locations.
"It is important that there is a strong distinction made between coaches that deliver day visits versus coach tourism that bring longer staying and added-value tourists.
"Iconic attractions will always attract greater volumes of visitors, as they do the world over and are key attractors to the localities in which they are located."
