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Dublin’s New Year celebrations for 2021 were canceled due to Covid-19.
In a statement, Fáilte Ireland said the decision was made in conjunction with Dublin City Council due to public health guidance.
The tourism body noted that 110,000 people attended last year’s New Year’s Festival for three days, with 80,000 in the fireworks display alone.
“Given these numbers, it is clear that the event would not be within current government and public health guidelines and it would not be appropriate to encourage people to flock to these numbers.”
Fáilte Ireland also announced the creation of a new body to “bring the city of Dublin back to life” during the winter.
The Destination Recovery Task Force will bring together a number of companies and organizations involved in the hospitality industry due to the “incredibly difficult challenges” of the past few weeks.
The task force will examine ways to “push the stride” in the capital while still meeting public health guidelines.
The Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) said the weekly rate of new hotel bookings across Ireland has plunged 67% since the new Tier 3 restrictions were introduced in Dublin on September 15.
He said this represents a “huge blow” to Irish tourism at a time when the sector is experiencing immense financial difficulties.
IHF President Elaina Fitzgerald Kane said: “Now is the time to make or break.” Urgent and unprecedented government intervention is required to support tourism businesses and safeguard thousands of jobs across the sector.
“This should form a central pillar of the Budget to be announced next month.”
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