Coronavirus: hospitality sector fears ‘devastating blow’

The hospitality industry in Galway is fearing a devastating blow if St Patrick’s Day celebrations are curbed or cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

A Galway publican told the Galway City Tribune that there was huge concern that major events will have to be called off if the virus spreads any further – with nine cases already confirmed on the island of Ireland.

The owner of the Kings Head, Paul Grealish, said while there was huge concern in the hospitality sector over the virus’ spread in Europe, there was a sense of helplessness as businesses could do nothing to stop it.

“Businesses such as ours are very concerned about it, but there’s very little we can do. If it spreads, we’ll all be affected. We’re taking a philosophical view of this because it is totally out of our control.

“I’ve been meeting with staff and advising them – we’re taking our advice from the HSE, the Restaurants Association and the VFI, reinforcing the importance of washing hands, and taking due care and attention,” said Mr Grealish.

What would be hugely concerning, he said, was if the St Patrick’s Day festivities had to be cancelled in an attempt to contain the spread of Covid-19, with March 17 usually marking the beginning of the main tourist season in Galway.

“It would be a big concern if the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin and Galway was cancelled. That would be a very poor start to the season.

“If they were to start cancelling more inward flights, that would be disastrous,” he said of the news this week that Ryanair had cancelled one-quarter of their flights to and from Italy between March 17 and April 8.

Mr Grealish said that the cancellation of major events such as the St Patrick’s Day celebrations would have long-lasting effects.

“You would be concerned that if they were cancelled or downgraded, we might have knock-on effects in May, June and July,” he explained.

American tourists, who are crucial to the success of the hospitality industry in Galway, were traditionally nervous about travelling outside the US, and the cancellation of events was likely to further dissuade them from crossing the Atlantic, he said.

While the spread of Coronavirus could result in more Irish holidaymakers choosing to stay at home this summer, it was unlikely to entirely offset the potential impact of a reduction in the numbers coming from overseas.

With a likely increase in the number of cases of the virus in Ireland, it was reasonable to assume that there would be additional people having to take time off work to either recover, or to self-isolate, and this would impact on the wider economy, added Mr Grealish.

“You might have a situation where people can’t go to work because of the Coronavirus, or they might have no work to go to. That will affect their ability to spend money,” he said, adding that fears of an economic decline could have a significant impact on consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, Galway 2020 have moved to allay fears that any of their events will have to be cancelled in the immediate future as a result of the virus.

“Galway 2020 is aware of the ever-evolving situation regarding the Coronavirus.  At present, no upcoming Galway 2020 events or participants are impacted. We are engaging with the relevant authorities and will continue to monitor the situation and proceed as advised in the interests of public health,” a spokesperson stated.