Hi °C | Lo °C HOTEL expert Francis Brennan has said that our miserable summer weather won't put off foreign tourists -- but it will damage the 'staycation' market.
Irish people are the ones most likely to abandon their holiday plans because of the rain, the At Your Service star claims.
June was one of the wettest ever recorded and July is already shaping up to be miserable again.
But while the foreign visitors are undaunted by the bad weather, soft Irish tourists will either stay at home or flee for sunnier climates, he says.
"When tourists are coming from abroad they don't even know what the weather is like, so in that sense that won't matter too much but it definitely has taken a substantial amount of business from the country," said Francis.
"People just don't travel out in that weather; it's the home market which has taken the hit. It's a shame."
However the charismatic presenter managed to look on the bright side to see some small positives for Irish tourism.
"My brother has opened a new luxury camping site in Kenmare, called Dromquinna Glamping, and the people that stayed there don't complain. Out of hundreds of people that stayed there only three people complained about the weather, so that is encouraging.
"We have an amenity area near Kenmare called Glenicnhquinn, it's a huge area for walking and I suppose there's an area like Powerscourt. It has been fantastic for the people because of the rain so there are plusses and minuses for everything.
"I also heard that the weather could start to settle after the end of this week so hopefully that will mean that the Irish market will pick up again. I don't have the exact figures for how much it dropped by but I know it was a bit."
Francis, who has just signed up as a patron for the Cappagh Foundation, is halfway through filming the fifth service of At Your Service and is still enjoying it as much as ever, although he says he has no major plans to do any other television work this year after the current series finishes.
"We are still filming At Your Service 5. We have three shows of eight finished so we have more of those again and apart from that I have nothing major planned for this year," he said.
hnews@herald.ie
