Vol. 488 No. 3
105 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his views on a statement recently attributed to him that there was evidence that a quick buck mentality is emerging within the creative tourism sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6092/98]
In a wide-ranging speech at the annual conference of the Irish Hotels' Federation in Galway on 17 February, I referred to the challenges represented by EMU and stressed the need for the Irish tourism sector to continue to offer value for money, given the highly competitive international market for tourism. I added that our efforts to maintain a vibrant rate of development in tourism could be adversely affected if a "quick buck" mentality was allowed to emerge in certain segments of the sector. I cautioned the members of the Hotels Federation to be ever vigilant to ensure that a competitive, fairly-priced Irish product remained on offer in the marketplace.
My impression was that the federation members fully shared my view that we all need to be constantly alert to the continuing need for competitive, fairly-priced, Irish tourism product.
