I have a free month to travel this May and springtime in Europe strikes me as the best option. Ireland interests me in particular, not only as a gorgeous place to visit but also because of the spectacular demise of the Celtic Tiger economy. Think Dublin is a better bet budget-wise than it was a few years ago?

Cheers,

Paul K., Brisbane

Photo credit

Good question Paul. This topic comes up a lot in conversation. Why, just last week for instance, in our Q&A about Tokyo hotels. The Japan of ten days ago is a far cry from the Japan of today but, obviously, worst-case natural and nuclear reactor disaster scenarios embody a different category altogether. A bum economy is not a 9.0 earthquake or tsunami.

And yet, both situations raise a point about what happens to a domestic tourism industry after a dire incident or episode and how travellers react in kind. In the case of Phuket, for example, there was a terrific rebound after the 2004 megathrust quake and tsunami. Other areas in the disaster zone have not been so fortunate. Much more germane to your question, however, is Argentina and, to a lesser extent, Chile. Both nations, like much of Latin America, have been through severe recessions and debt crises over the last two plus decades (Argentina from 1999-2002, Chile in the 1980s), with predictable results: boom times for tourism. Buenos Aires, for one, is still as hot a tourist target as it comes.

Ireland, admittedly, is much different from South America, for a few reasons. There is the matter of currency, for one. The Euro is not the Argentine peso. Continental solidarity helps, especially when it comes in the form of substantial bailouts from the EU and generous bank write offs.

Still, one cannot recover from financial insolvency and a collapse in the Dublin property market in a day, or a year even. It will take time. Forecasts for month-to-month economic growth in Ireland for 2011 look stellar and up there with the very best in Europe. The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 looks nice on paper but who knows? The country still has to climb out of a deep crevasse.

Technically, and 20/20 hindsight aside, the best time to take advantage of a stale economy, or one in reversal, is when the bad news builds and crests. For tourists in Ireland, this was last summer, 2010. And yet good times still roll for the likes of you, Paul, on the Emerald Isle, even while Irish eyes try to find their smile again.

Hotels in Dublin have never been more affordable (with the exception of 2010 of course), with deep discounts at some of the best and most desirable names. Shop around. HotelClub Ireland accommodations contain some superb gems at the moment, so jump on it.

Another bad economy spin-off: avant-garde art. A bunch of freewheeler performance, studio and gallery spaces have sprung up in Dublin of late, thanks to the newfound alacrity of property developers. Check out Basic Space (2 Vicar Street) and The Complex (Block C, 18-21 Smithfield Square).

Bottom line, Paul, is take advantage of the current windfall. The Celtic Tiger may have been a bit of a charade but the cranes will return to Dublin’s skyline sooner or later.

Popularity: 1% [?]