Vol. 470 No. 3
4 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the plans, if any, he has to minimise the impact on tourism of the IRA's return to war; and the new marketing initiative, if any, he is considering in this regard. [18940/96]
Minimising the impact on tourism of the current breakdown in the peace process is a priority for both the tourism industry and the various State bodies involved in tourism promotion and development. However, it is important to acknowledge that even before the promising ceasefires in late 1994, the Irish tourism industry was growing at an accelerated rate, and continues to do so, and that recent events, regrettable and worrying though they are, do not represent a return to continuing and widespread civil disturbance.
The key strengths in the Irish tourism industry, built up over many years through major investments in the product, increased marketing resources, improved air and sea access and general improvements in the Irish economy, should prove valuable assets in the challenge to overcome present difficulties and expand our tourism industry further.
Bord Fáilte's plans for the overseas marketing of Irish tourism are continually reviewed with particular regard to factors which could affect travel prospects from specific foreign markets. Their continuous monitoring of overseas markets indicates inquiry levels remaining stable to date and that 1996 should prove another record-breaking year for Irish tourism.
Bord Fáilte's 1997 tourism marketing campaigns are now being prepared and will incorporate the launch of the new Tourism Brand Ireland. The brand launch will also involve extensive consumer advertising, and the largest single element will be TV campaigns in major overseas markets, including Britain, France, Germany and the USA. Much of this activity is taking place in conjunction with the ongoing industry-led Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative — OTMI — which is a partnership between the tourism industry and the State sector.
Finally, Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourism Board continue to enjoy a good working relationship. This manifests itself most significantly in the OTMI where both tourist boards are active participants. Cross-Border co-operation in areas of common interest will continue to be a priority of my Department, including encouraging joint marketing activities wherever feasible.
I welcome the Minister's confidence and hope it is well placed. I think he will agree many people have invested large amounts of money in tourism projects, as has the State and the European Union, and they are concerned at events that took place, particularly since last February. Those people wish to be assured that specific plans will be in place in the event that activities in the North have a detrimental effect on tourism numbers.
Deputy Killeen understands the importance of tourism and the implications of the activities in Northern Ireland. The Government would like to see the ceasefire restored and inclusive talks taking place. The tourism industry benefits everybody, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious creed. Last year tourist numbers in Northern Ireland increased by 56 per cent. There has been a considerable decrease from that high level this year.
In the period January to June this year the total number of visitors was 2.002 million, an increase of 15.5 per cent on the same period in 1995. The number of visitors from North America increased by 17.7 per cent; from Britain, 17.4 per cent to 1.183 million and from mainland Europe, approximately 15 per cent to 464,000. This contrasts sharply with the position in Northern Ireland.
Despite the setback, the industry has continued to grow strongly and has the potential to grow further. We will continue with enthusiasm to market and provide facilities of a standard and quality to attract national and international clientele.
What plans does the Minister have, as President of the Council of Ministers, to ensure that the peace and reconciliation programme fund is restored to its original size?
The Minister for Finance has indicated that he expects that decision to be overturned at the next Council meeting. The views expressed by Deputies on all sides of the House in the past few days will be an important factor. We have tried to streamline the procedures in respect of the plethora of funds for Border counties in such a way that applicants for assistance will be pointed in the right direction. The Minister of State, Deputy Carey, chaired a task force established to deal with this matter.
Will the Minister acknowledge that Inishowen has been affected more than any other region by the breakdown? During the summer there was a massive number of cancellations. Can a case be made for special treatment as part of a marketing initiative? On accessibility, is there scope to bring cruisers to Inishowen, without having to travel through the North, and to have the Derry-Dublin airlink restored to attract visitors to the region? While the tourist figures are good, they do not stand up on a county-by-county basis.
The establishment of airlinks is a matter for the airlines involved. Marketing support is available.
Cruise Ireland, the company established by Bord Fáilte a number of years ago, markets cruise liners. A number were due to call to Derry where one in particular encountered difficulties.
Inishowen is a lovely area. As one of the Border counties, Donegal qualifies for funding under various programmes. It benefited recently from the funds made available under the INTERREG programme. Tourism interests in the region have combined to produce a huge marketing programme to encourage people to continue to visit the area which will complement the efforts of regional tourism organisations and Bord Fáilte in marketing Ireland.
As the number of British visitors has increased I assume the decrease in visitor numbers in Inishowen can be attributed to the fall in the number of visitors from Northern Ireland who have traditionally crossed the Border on holidays and weekend trips.
I congratulate the Minister on his excellent presentation at the Pittsburg economic conference which was brought to my attention by my colleague, Councillor Paul Connolly, chairman of Sligo County Council, who led the Sligo delegation. As the Border counties have suffered badly since the breakdown of the ceasefire will new initiatives be taken resulting from the Pittsburg conference?
The Pittsburg conference, as the Deputy knows, dealt with trade and tourism issues. On the tourism side, the purpose was to identify inadequacies in American tourism interests. This will probably not result in new initiatives. On the trade side, it proved to be an excellent conference with more than 500 head-to-head meetings between potential investors in joint ventures. This should lead to a greater understanding of what the Border counties and the island as a whole have to offer. This will be to our ultimate benefit in terms of increased trade and tourism revenue and the creation of new jobs.
In quoting statistics is there a need to make a clear distinction between visitor and tourist numbers? Day visitors from Northern Ireland to Border areas grossly distort the statistics as not all of these visitors can be described as tourists.
As the Deputy is aware, we use the World Tourism Organisation's definition which is a person travelling to and staying at least one night in a country other than his or her country of usual residence for a period not exceeding 12 months for leisure, business or other purposes. As the Deputy knows, people come here for four principal reasons.
The Minister quoted visitor numbers, we are interested in tourist numbers.
A number of those included in the visitor category would be deemed to be tourists.
