Vol. 541 No. 3
8 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his estimate of the total revenue lost to the tourism sector arising from the foot and mouth scare; the visitor numbers for the first six months of 2001; the way in which this compares with the same period in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22317/01]
9 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the golfing industry; the value of the sector to the economy; the general state of this sector at present; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22425/01]
16 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently or plans to have with representatives of car hire companies to discuss the general decline in the tourist business; the state of the car hire industry including the value of the industry to the economy; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22421/01]
17 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the preliminary indications for the number of overseas visitors here for 2001; the likely impact following the acts of terrorism in America on 11 September 2001; the measures which will be taken to assist the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22312/01]
21 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the hotel industry; the general state of the industry; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22435/01]
28 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the farmhouse tourist sector; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22439/01]
30 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his views on whether hotels and guest houses have suffered significant loss of revenue in 2001; if he will give support to help this industry survive; his further views on whether agri-tourism has suffered more than most; his views on whether the tourist industry needs added support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22477/01]
33 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the measures he is putting in place to address the crisis in the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21856/01]
36 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the caravan and camping industry; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22428/01]
38 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has discussed with the Minister for Finance the possibility of temporary deferment of PRSI and PAYE payments for certain sections of the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22423/01]
40 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the bed and breakfast sector; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22436/01]
43 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will make a statement on the state of the tourist industry. [22471/01]
48 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the Government initiatives which he will implement to deal with the expected decimation of the US sourced tourist market for 2002 and the serious reduction already apparent in the British sourced holiday market; the way in which he proposes to deal with the change in British holiday attitudes that Ireland is now a short stay destination for British holiday makers; his primary activities in marketing Ireland to Nordic and other priority areas of Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22470/01]
50 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the additional funding which has been made available to promote and market the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22404/01]
54 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the plans he has to counteract the repercussions on the tourism industry of the present international crisis; and the amount of additional funding being made available to implement those plans. [21721/01]
56 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if his attention has been drawn to the findings of the Shannon pulse survey (details supplied); the steps he will take to address the crisis indicated by these figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22318/01]
58 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has devised a plan or revised existing plans or proposals for the tourist industry; if he has plans to support the tourist industry in the short, medium and long-term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22472/01]
62 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has undertaken an assessment of the likely implications for the tourism industry of the planned significant reduction in Aer Lingus routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22316/01]
167 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the farmhouse tourist sector; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22654/01]
168 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the golfing industry; the value of the sector to the economy; the general state of this sector at present; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22655/01]
169 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the caravan and camping industry; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22657/01]
171 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently or plans to have with representatives of car hire companies to discuss the general decline in the tourist business; the present state of the car hire industry including the value of the industry to the economy; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22660/01]
172 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he has discussed the possibility of temporary deferment of PRSI and PAYE payments for certain sections of the tourism industry with the Minister for Finance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22661/01]
173 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the additional funding which has been made available to promote and market the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22662/01]
174 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the estimated total number of tourists who visited Ireland; the value of these visits to the economy in 2000; the number of these who originated in North America; the estimated amount spent by North American visitors here in 2000; his projections for 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22663/01]
176 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the hotel industry; the general state of the industry; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22665/01]
177 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the contact or meetings he has had recently with representatives of the bed and breakfast sector; the general state of this sector; its future projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22666/01]
180 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation his plans to support the tourism industry in the wake of international security concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22669/01]
I propose to take Questions
Nos. 8, 9, 16, 17, 21, 28, 30, 33, 36, 38, 40, 43, 48, 50, 54, 56, 58, 62, 167 to 169, inclusive, 171 to 174, inclusive, 176, 177 and 180 together.
As I have already indicated in my reply to the Priority Questions on this subject, in 2000, there were 6.3 million overseas visitors to Ireland who contributed an estimated £2.2 billion or 2.8 billion in foreign revenue earnings, excluding Irish carrier receipts which amounted to £0.6 billion or .75 billion. There were 1.1 million visitors from North America who contributed almost £560 million, 710 million, or 25% of foreign revenue earnings.
No official estimates are as yet available in relation to the loss of tourism business from the United States and elsewhere arising from the tragic events of 11 September 2001. However, although it is accepted that it is still too early to assess the overall impact on international travel patterns, it is clear that the terrorist attacks in the US are likely to significantly impact on visitor numbers to Ireland, in particular from America, for the balance of this year and into 2002, leading to the first annual decline in visitor numbers for a decade.
