This Tourist Traffic Bill, as the Minister made clear, is primarily for the purpose of extending the period for which guarantees and certain interest-free loans can be given under the earlier Acts and which period expired within the past few months. I was a little surprised that the Minister, in dealing with the general tourist problem, did not advert or refer to what is undoubtedly the main problem in relation to our tourist trade. The real difficulty with which we have to contend in any expansion or development of tourism is the fact that the season here is so lamentably short. Even during that very short season, there is a more than substantial portion of it during which the bed occupancy in all the hotels, no matter how good they may be, leaves something to be desired. There is a short peak period in which we have a substantial inflow of visitors, but it is more than difficult for those in the hotel and other tourist business, dependent on that inflow, to spread their overheads for the whole year over the number of visitors who come to them during the short peak period.
It is a matter for congratulation that last year Bord Fáilte decided to promote additional tourists to Ireland by endeavouring to arrange that as many conferences as possible should be held here. That is a type of tourist business which we can get at a time when normal holiday traffic has either not fully commenced or has started to taper off. I hope that new promotional angle which started last year and which has brought substantial results, indeed gratifying results this year, will be continued and that they will concentrate more on bringing people here during the off-season period rather than during the peak period.
It is undeniable that anything that can be done towards increasing the number of tourists at times other than the peak period will do more to establish the tourist industry and inspire those in it into expansion than anything else. We must consider, too, how we will publicise abroad the facilities we have to offer. We are a small country and to publicise everywhere the many advantages that we have to offer would require an enormous amount of money. If we were to do it on a broad and general scale, it would be far beyond our resources, and it is necessary for us, therefore, either to get some new medium of publicity or else concentrate on certain specific sectors of likely tourist business.
This must be, I imagine, a problem with which not merely Bord Fáilte are concerned, but with which Aer Lingus must also be concerned. In relation to Aer Lingus, we can see the advertisements which they can provide on a comparatively modest budget for taking people from Ireland abroad, but the market which they have to cover for that purpose is small. When one considers it the other way—the market they have to cover to bring people here from France, from Spain, from Portugal, from Switzerland, from Germany and from wherever they happen to have services—they are faced with a very wide market indeed and the expenditure necessary to reach that market through newspaper publicity would be very large. In that respect, therefore, we have to recognise that that is a fact which must be constantly borne in mind in deciding the basis upon which and the method by which our tourist propaganda shall be beamed abroad.
I think it wise that in this Bill provision should be made to ensure that an interest free grant can be given in the case where there is no guarantee, just as in the case where there is a guarantee. It may cut out some unnecessary administration and may do a great deal to expedite consideration of these cases.
The Minister also mentioned the taxation incentives on new tourist buildings which I arranged to provide last year. These things will undoubtedly act as incentives towards the provision of new holiday accommodation, but the greatest incentive of all would be to be able to do something to extend the season. However, I do think it is necessary to ensure that in the distribution of grants to local authorities and local development companies, there will not be any duplication. I came across cases some time ago where it seemed to me that grants for a similar or almost similar purpose were being made out of different funds at the same time. There should be a central administration in relation to that, rather than that there should be one grant for a portion of the expenditure dispensed by Bord Fáilte and another by the Department of Local Government and so on.
Equally, it is highly desirable that it should be made certain that where any grant is being given to a local company for the erection of new holiday accommodation, that new accommodation is to meet an additional need and not merely has the effect of taking from an existing amenity already there and catering quite satisfactorily. I know of one case. There was a ballroom run quite satisfactorily by a private person. Nobody had any complaint to make against the management, the structure or anything else. It was run as an ordinary commercial enterprise in a satisfactory way and yet it was clear to everyone that in it was clear to everyone that in that area, even at peak periods, there was need for only one such ballroom.
Nevertheless, Bord Fáilte gave a grant to a local tourist development company to erect another ballroom and all that happened was that the new ballroom took the business of the first, and there is at present not really enough for both. Each of them is struggling along. I think that is entirely wrong. Steps should be taken to ensure that when a grant is given in a case like that, there is a genuine need for additional accommodation. Further, I think that in the consideration of the need for additional accommodation, priority should always be given to something that will provide off-peak accommodation.
The Minister referred to the provisions of Section 5 of the Bill, bringing motels under the control of Bord Fáilte. I think that since one of the principal advantages we have to offer here is good scenery, with a short season for it, the motel is one of the most desirable advances that could be made in the provision of holiday accommodation. If there are to be motels—and I use the word in the general sense covering everything intended in Section 5—it is clearly right that they should be under the control of Bord Fáilte in order to ensure that the standard will be a reasonable one. All of us will agree with that without any reservation. I am particularly been on this type of holiday accommodation because it can be provided reasonably cheaply and because it would be one of the best ways of ensuring that we were able to sell the value of our scenery to visitors from abroad.
I am glad that this section has been incorporated in the Bill. I notice, however, that, in Section 5, one of the names of these motels substantially in use in America has not been included in the Bill. I am referring to tourist courts. The word "motor court" is mentioned, but in America the word "tourist court" is perhaps more common for this type of accommodation than any of the words that are included. They started off being known always as "motels". In America, they moved from that definition to that of "tourist courts". In so far as there would be any American tourists using this type of accommodation, the omission of the word "tourist court" is one that should be rectified.