The remarks by the chairperson of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation were made in the context of the recent launch of the interim results of the People and Place project, at which I was present.
The People and Place project, being led by ITIC with support from OTMI, Bord Fáilte, the Northern Ireland Tourism Board and CERT, is being funded under the tourism and the environment initiative of the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-1999. The project aims to raise awareness both within the tourism industry and among the public of the need to preserve what ITIC call the "core values" of Irish tourism – the friendliness of the Irish people and the unspoilt natural environment.
I fully endorse the comments by the ITIC chairperson, which were made as a constructive and timely contribution to the successful implementation of the project. ITIC has made a significant effort in bringing together the level of commitment from within the tourism industry itself which will be necessary to ensure that Irish tourism is truly sustainable. I commend its initiative and eagerness in seeking to explore and identify ways of retaining and improving the welcoming environment, both social and physical, offered to our tourists. In the final analysis, it will be the tourism industry itself which must generate the momentum necessary to ensure that, in the context of increasing tourism numbers, the uniquely Irish tourism experience remains so.
