Vol. 468 No. 4
773 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the effect, if any, the recent disturbances in Northern Ireland had on tourist bookings in the Republic; and the action, if any, his Department is taking to counter the negative publicity arising therefrom. [15770/96]
781 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the effects, if any, the current difficulties in Northern Ireland will have on tourism in the current year and in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15953/96]
794 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the impact, if any, on the tourism industry following the recent events in Northern Ireland; the estimated cost of the difficulties to the tourism industry; and if any further advertising spending is planned to give information on the situation in Ireland. [16002/96]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 773, 781 and 794 together. It is difficult to assess precisely the overall impact of the recent disturbances in Northern Ireland on tourism performance this year and potentially for 1997 but Bord Fáilte's ongoing monitoring shows that, in those markets where inquiry levels dropped in the immediate aftermath of the incidents, they recovered quickly following successful advertising campaigns.
Bord Fáilte is continuing to closely monitor the situation in association with key carriers, tour operators and product suppliers. Appropriate strategies to deal with situations such as this have already been considered by Bord Fáilte and the Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative who, notwithstanding the latest disturbances, will continue to promote and sell Ireland as vigorously as possible in overseas markets, having regard to available funds. Bord Fáilte still anticipates growth from all of the principal overseas markets in 1996 and the target set for overall growth in visitor numbers is 10 per cent. Bord Fáilte considers that this target is achievable and this is borne out by the most recently available statistics from the Central Statistics Office for the period January to March 1996 which were up 11 per cent over the same period in 1995.
