asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport if he will furnish the relevant comparative statistics for Ireland's tourist industry relative to the following figures for the EC: (1) Gross Domestic Product — 5.5 per cent; (2) the number of tourists — 137 million; (3) full time jobs — 7.4 million; (4) percentage of total employment — 6 per cent; (5) jobs indirectly related to tourism — three million; (6) expenditure of final private consumption — 8 per cent; and (7) contribution to total foreign exchange exports — 4 per cent.
Written Answers. - Tourist Industry.
57.
The statistics for the European Community refer to 1985. The comparable data for Ireland for that year are set out in the following table.
|
(1) Tourism receipts as a % of Gross Domestic Product |
5.5% |
|
(2) Number of tourists (million)* |
1.9 |
|
(3) Number of full-time job equivalents in tourism (thousands)** |
65.0 |
|
(4) Full-time job equivalents in tourism as a % of total employment |
6.0% |
|
(5) Jobs indirectly related to tourism (thousands)*** |
26.4 |
|
(6) Tourism receipts as a % of final private consumption |
9.6% |
|
(7) Contribution of export tourism receipts to total foreign exchange exports. |
6.4% |
* Number of "out of State" visitors to Ireland.
** This estimate refers to direct, indirect and induced tourism employment. It is a departmental estimate based on a revised methodology for estimating tourism employment which is being considered by a Working Group on "Tourism and Employment" due to report shortly to the Minister for Tourism and Transport.
*** This estimate comprises indirect and induced employment effects of tourism receipts and hence it is already incorporated into the estimate of 65,000 job equivalents at item (3) above.