Vol. 516 No. 1
16 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the number of visitors to Ireland in 1999; the breakdown, if any, which exists to determine the number which were tourists and the number visiting for corporate or domestic reasons; if his attention has been drawn to concerns that much of the increase in visitors is made up of those visiting for corporate or family reasons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7010/00]
The Central Statistics Office has responsibility for the compilation of official tourism and travel statistics. Its latest release, published on 17 December 1999, relates to official visitor numbers for the first nine months of the year and revenue figures for the first six months. These figures show that the number of overseas visitors increased by 6.5% on the same period in 1998, from more than 4.5 million to more than 4.8 million. Revenue earnings from tourism for the first six months of 1999 increased by more than 12% from £954 million to £1,072 million. Publication by the CSO of official tourism figures for the full year is scheduled for the end of March.
Preliminary results from Bord Fáilte's survey of overseas travellers for the breakdown of overseas visitors by type last year indicate that the number of those visiting for corporate, family or other reasons accounted altogether for 64% of all visitors. While our main growth target is the high yield holidaymaker, it is also important that we continue to attract the business visitor, especially the high spending incentive segment, and those who return regularly to visit with family and friends.
