Contrasting roles in business development for the tourism and leisure industries: the case of Glasgow and Dublin

Contrasting the experiences of the cities of Glasgow (UK) and Dublin (Irish Republic), this chapter highlights: the role of various public and private sector agencies involved in tourism/leisure business development; the role of EU and other development funding sources involved in developing, shaping and exploiting tourism and leisure activities; and the extent of funding available. It is found that Dublin has been able to take advantage of its status as the national capital and as a historic centre of literature and culture, has been able to draw on government policies and tax incentives favouring further tourism development, and exploit the opportunities offered to destinations by cheaper air fares and a trend in consumer tastes away from the coastal resorts, to become one of Europe's fastest growing destinations. By comparison, Glasgow has simply not benefited from the learning experiences that such fast track tourism development offered to Dublin. Without structural assistance so deliberately targeted at tourism and perhaps more importantly, with a government whose attitude to the industry could at best be described as indifferent, Glasgow was unable to develop the foundations for growth in the 1980s that offered a base for a more sophisticated second stage of more sustainable development into the 1990s and beyond. In particular, its historic rivalry with Edinburgh, stifled the growth of tourism.