Vol. 460 No. 4
27 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the date on which he received a copy of the report from the marketing sub-committee of the Tourism Council on the potential for growth in domestic tourism; the action, if any, he proposes to take arising from the proposals in that report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1472/96]
41 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he shares the concerns of the Irish Hotels Federation regarding the problem of loss of share of domestic tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1473/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 41 together.
The Central Statistics Office publishes figures for visits abroad by Irish residents but does not produce comparable figures for domestic trips. However, limited surveys by Bord Fáilte indicate that in recent years expenditure on holiday trips abroad has grown at a faster rate than domestic holiday trips. The reasons underlying this trend are many and varied and range from the general disposition of people worldwide to travel more, which of course benefits us in terms of incoming tourists, to factors such as the weather in recent summers, excluding 1995, and increased capacity on cross-channel air and sea routes which has resulted in reduced fares.
Domestic tourism, however, remains a very important part of the overal sector and Bord Fáilte estimates that it contributed £680 million to the economy in 1994.
The report of the Marketing Sub-Committee of the Tourism Council was presented to the Council, which I chaired, on 28 September 1995. The report outlined the importance in economic terms of domestic tourism, the increased level of competition especially in the short break sector and the market opportunities which are emerging. It suggested that a new and reorganised approach to support growth in the domestic market was opportune and put forward a number of suggestions for new marketing initiatives.
The Minister of State at my Department is at present considering the suggestions and proposals made in the report and he will take action as appropriate, in particular as regards greater co-ordination and more effective use of the existing efforts in the marketplace.
