ICG CEO Rothwell Wants To Seize British Market

The head of the Irish Continental Group (ICG), Eamon Rothwell, says that Tourism Ireland should capitalise on Britain's "benign" economic climate: the goal, he claims, should be to lure greater numbers of Britons to visit Ireland. Rothwell said that he did not wish to be critical of Irish tourism authorities, but did say that they can occasionally be "wound up in exotic markets" when Britain should be the central point of focus.   His urge was powerful and laconic: "Go for it lads — this is ready"   Last year three million British tourists made up 42% of all overseas visitors to Ireland, with British tourism numbers reducing most during the recession. At a high point in 2007, Ireland received some four million tourists from Britain.    Mr Rothwell was speaking after the ICG had its AGM in Dublin, with all motions passed by shareholders. The company also held a separate EGM at which it won permission to sub-divide each of its share units into 10, thus reducing the market price of the units.   The Irish Continental Group has reported a 5.8% increase in group revenue of €76.7 million for the first four months of 2014. This compares with revenues of €72.5 million the same time last year.   The company reported that in the 20 weeks up to 17 May, Irish Ferries carried 95,000 cars, an increase of 5% on the previous year; they noted that its business is significantly weighted towards the second half of the year, when typically a greater proportion of the group's operating profit is generated than in the first six months.