Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 28 Oct 1993

Vol. 435 No. 2

Written Answers. - Shannon Airport's Tourism Role.

Michael McDowell

Question:

18 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the evaluation his Department has made of the effect on Irish tourism of the changes proposed in relation to Shannon Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Tourism and Trade (Mr. McCreevy)

Aviation policy is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, whose Department has recently opened talks with the US authorities on amending the Ireland/US air agreements.

I made an input in relation to the needs of Irish tourism in advance of the talks and I am satisfied that resulting changes will prove beneficial to Irish tourism generally and the continued development of the Shannon region.

Access is vital to Irish tourism and one of the more striking features in recent years has been the growth in access services from our main markets of Britain and Mainland Europe which helped to facilitate growth of 38 per cent and 124 per cent respectively since 1987. This has not been matched on the transatlantic routes where the number of carriers and services reduced over the same period. Tourist numbers from North America have remained more or less static while our share of North American tourism to Europe has fallen from 6 per cent in 1987 to an estimated 5 per cent in 1992.

The problem has been compounded by a reduction in the proportion of pure holidaymakers from 52 per cent of total North American traffic in 1987 to 45 per cent in 1992. The proportion of "backtracking" traffic is also increasing. Direct transatlantic air passengers have fallen from 54 per cent to 47 per cent of total US arrivals since 1989. The average length of stay for those arriving by indirect routes is 8 days compared to 14 for those who travel direct to Shannon or Dublin with a corresponding reduction on visitor spend.

If the North American tourist markets is to be fully developed carrier capacity must expand. Changes in the Ireland/US air agreements can provide a stimulus to carriers to develop new direct services to Ireland. A useful indicator of the potential impact on tourism is the experience in relation to transatlantic access to Scotland since 1990. Five carriers now operate regular scheduled flights from North American to Scotland. Total direct transatlantic passenger movements in and out of Scotland have grown by 41 per cent since 1990 while similar figures for Ireland show a change of less than 2 per cent over the same period.