Vol. 470 No. 3
13 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he will report on the likely outcome of the 1996 tourist season and the forecast for the tourism industry in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18851/96]
The latest available estimates from the Central Statistics Office for overseas visitors, which relate to the first half of 1996——
I wanted tourist figures.
——show overall visitor numbers up 16 per cent in the same period last year, with Great Britain up 17 per cent, other European countries up 15 per cent, and North America, which includes the USA and Canada, up 18 per cent. Visitors from countries outside these areas were down 9 per cent and represented the only market to show a drop. Bord Fáilte's current forecast is that visitor numbers will increase by about 10 per cent to 4.7 million this year and that revenue will increase at a broadly similar rate.
The forecast for the tourism industry in 1997 is for continued growth although this will be dependent on a number of factors, such as economic conditions in our main markets, and the situation in Northern Ireland.
I refer to my earlier comments in regard to the statistics. Bord Fáilte made estimates in the number of tourists that come into this country based on the Central Statistics Office results of their surveys on visitors. There is a clear difference between visitors and tourists. In future when the Minister is replying to these questions as Minister for Tourism and Trade, could he give us the estimated tourist figures, because it is very confusing? To use overall visitor figures bloats the tourism figures.
We have been through this already when debating the CSO figures. I am advised that they are on a par or better than what is available in most cases. As an island nation it is easier for us to determine entries into the country. I will try to extrapolate the numbers of real tourists from the figures I have given here in respect of visitor numbers and forward the results to the Deputy.
