asked the Minister for Tourism and Transport the specific proposals from the Tourism Task Force which will be implemented for the 1988 summer tourist season; the specific proposals from Bord Fáilte which will be implemented for the 1988 summer tourist season; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tourism Proposals.
11.
In addition to their ongoing product development, promotion and marketing activities, Bord Fáilte will in 1988 be implementing the following specific recommendations of the Tourism Task Force:
The national write and invite campaign which is now under way;
A new campaign, also under way, directed at the special interest holiday segments of our main markets making extensive use of specialist tour operators and journalists in special interest magazines and publications. Bord Fáilte have targeted angling, golf, equestrian, cycling, walking, religious, cultural-heritage-language, incentiveconference, cruising and senior citizens;
New 1988 campaigns in north America and Australia-Japan concentrating on back-track traffic from Europe and Britain;
Special campaigns already underway in continental Europe and Britain;
A special entrepreneurial tourism fund to assist innovative tourism projects designed to increase visitor traffic in 1988;
A conference ambassador scheme aimed at attracting increased international conference business.
I am confident that these initiatives will lead to a substantial increase in overseas visitors in 1988.
The write and invite campaign was quite imaginative and innovative but one would have thought that the object of the exercise would have been to get all the leaflets out within three or four days to everybody in the country so that presently people would be aware of the campaign. Is the Minister aware that in large areas of the country people have still not received their brochure and therefore they have not sent it abroad and they will have forgotten about the campaign if things do not speed up. What has gone wrong?
Nothing has gone wrong. Actually getting out the literature was a mammoth task which has been done systematically and the whole country will be covered. It will be our responsibility and duty to see to it that people will not forget what it is all about.
Did Bord Fáilte have a target of a specific number of days within which this was supposed to happen? As I understand it that target has been hugely overshot.
No, I think they are working to a plan.
The Minister mentioned attracting back-track traffic from Europe as one of the targets but what is his view in that the airlines, and Ryanair in particular, have not got agreement for the lower air fares from the other European countries? As I understand it, they are not getting any co-operation for the new low fares out of Europe. What is the current position? Are Europe ganging up on us?
I can give full details to the Deputy for the various countries. But I assure him that after long and arduous work by the people in my Department an agreement allowing Ryanair to fly directly from Germany to here at very competitive prices has been reached and Ryanair will shortly be starting those flights. I am picking that as a specific example but I can let the Deputy have the whole range of new arrangements by letter if he so wishes.
When will that come into effect?
Through my pushing them, I think Ryanair will be starting earlier than they had originally intended. They will certainly start this summer and hopefully within the next month.
The Minister in his response has highlighted special interest holidays but I notice nothing specific to the Millennium celebrations of Dublin city this year. I have looked at the holiday brochure being circulated on the Continent and little if any mention is made of the Millennium. Is the Minister satisfied that enough has been done by Bord Fáilte to promote this very special and important event?
I agree with the Deputy that it is a very special and very important event. I am quite satisfied that, apart altogether from the publicity which the Dublin Millennium has earned for itself, and very hard work has been done on that, Bord Fáilte are also — and I have experience of this — pushing the Dublin Millennium in all their workshops and wherever they are marketing. In the special campaigns, a major sales force are now touring Germany, France and Switzerland up to 6 May. They comprise 38 key Irish trade members, incoming tour operators, hoteliers and people who provide accommodation. The Dublin Millennium features very strongly in all of that.
I should like to commend Bord Fáilte and the task force on the major new initiatives they have undertaken and I hope they will be successful. May I ask the Minister, in relation to the special interest holidays — and this comes back to something which has been discussed here before —— and angling being one of those special interest holidays that were promoted to ask the Taoiseach to have this matter on the agenda——
Please Deputy this matter has been dealt with in earlier questions and it may not be adverted to now.
It is a very serious issue.
I am calling Deputy Austin Deasy.
It is——
I thought the Deputy had a question pertinent to the question on the Order Paper.
There is a second part to my question, a Cheann Comhairle, if you can bear with me which relates to the new programme being pushed in North America, Australia and Japan. I would like the Minister to outline to the House what exactly that programme involves and if special fares are available from London to Dublin and Shannon for Australian visitors who come to England.
I can assure the Deputy again that due to the initiatives taken in my Department it will not cost the Australian visitor any more to come to Dublin than it does to come to London.
Deputy Austin Deasy to ask a final supplementary question on this subject.
Were the task force given a specific sum of money for these promotions and, if so, who is overseeing the spending of this money?
As the Deputy knows, £4 million extra was provided in the budget. The task force were expected to study where best, particularly in the marketing area, this sum could be spent. Of course, Bord Fáilte are the moderator and watch dog of that money.
Can I ask——
Question No. 12 has been disposed of. I said the last question was the final supplementary and I meant that.
The Minister——
The Deputy may not argue with me. Question No. 12 has been disposed of and we now come to deal with Question No. 13 in the name of Deputy Jim O'Keeffe.