Vol. 474 No. 2
9 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the policy initiatives, if any, he has introduced to make tourism a year-round business both for providers of services to tourists and their employees; and the progress, if any, which has been made during 1995 and 1996 in this area. [2525/97]
Specific targets have been set under the operational programme for tourism 1994-9 for improving tourism activity in the shoulder and off-peak seasons. At the beginning of the programme, 70 per cent of visitors came to Ireland during the off-peak season and our aim is to increase this figure to 75 per cent by 1999.
The addition to the range and quality of weather independent facilities in recent years, together with substantial investment in marketing, is designed to improve the seasonality profile of the industry. The assistance the industry has received under the tourism operational programme has been of considerable benefit in this regard.
Moreover, the overseas tourism marketing initiative, which is a State-industry partnership marketing initiative, promotes Ireland on a year-round basis and many of its campaigns are directed at attracting visitors outside the peak season.
The Celtic Flame music festival, which I launched recently, is an initiative based on a recommendation from the Tourism Council to further build tourism in the off-season. Allied to this are the improved St. Patrick's festivities in Dublin which I am convinced have the potential to become a major attraction in the shoulder period.
I should also mention the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan's, domestic tourism marketing initiative which continues to provide an added boost to tourism in the off-season. The Government has provided £500,000 for this initiative this year and the 1997 campaign will be launched on 10 February by the Minister of State.
The launch of Tourism Brand Ireland formed a key part of a new strategic approach to marketing designed to address major issues such as yield, regional spread and seasonality. The advertising emphasis is on aspects of the Irish holiday like human interaction, culture and historical heritage which are not season-dependent.
Would the Minister agree that those directly involved in the industry have embraced the concept of year-round tourism with enthusiasm? There have been some signs of progress but there also seems to be a belief within the industry generally that it is impossible to achieve any worthwhile level of tourism on a year-round basis. The difficulty which policy makers need to address in the first instance is to make the industry believe it is possible to operate all year round and to prepare and market with that in mind. That more than anything else has been the failure which has prevented the tourism product from being a year-round one. That is what needs to be addressed.
There is a fair degree of truth in that. In many parts of the country the industry has assumed for far too long that it should close down at the end of September and not re-open until the following Easter. Only a few years ago this city used to have spare bed capacity for extensive periods during the year, but that is no longer the case, even given the phenomenal increase in bed-nights available through hotel development and investment in other accommodation. People across the country, including the midlands, west, north-west and south-west, now recognise that there are people who will travel here outside the traditional shoulder season. For instance, the Notre Dame versus the US Navy football game in Croke Park in November brought some 14,000 Americans — the single biggest movement of people here from across the Atlantic.
Ireland rates as ninth in European terms as a sun destination but ranks number one as a non-sun destination. We also know that if there was a ceasefire declaration with a return to peace, at least five million extra people in Great Britain would consider taking their holidays here annually. Even a small percentage of those on an annual basis would be important in terms of our economic development. The message is getting through that people are prepared to travel here year-round, and it is my objective to promote tourism on that basis. I hope they respond by travelling here all year round.
