I welcome Mr. Shaun Quinn, chief executive of Fáilte Ireland and his colleague, Mr. Malcolm Connolly, director of industry development. They are here to make a presentation on the tourism industry as part of our consideration of the subject. The regional representatives have already come before the committee. Representatives of Tourism Ireland will come before the committee, as requested, early in the next session. I call on Mr. Quinn to make his presentation.
Tourism Policy: Presentation.
Mr. Shaun Quinn
I thank the Chairman and members of the committee. We are pleased to have this opportunity to meet the committee and discuss the current state of tourism. By way of introduction, Mr. Malcolm Connolly, our director of industry development overseas, has responsibility for research, regional tourism and product development functions.
As members are aware, tourism remains one of Ireland's most important indigenous industries and, in many respects, it is a story of success. I know of no other sector which is so nationally dispersed and so varied in scale and scope in terms of its business. It occupies a complex position within public policy from our perspective because decisions taken in the areas of the environment, finance, enterprise and transport impact directly on the performance of the tourism industry. All our tasks are complicated to some degree in trying to ensure that the industry grows in a sustainable manner. Appropriately, there are a number of specialist organisations at national, regional and local level that support different aspects of tourism in Ireland.
Fáilte Ireland, as the national tourism development authority, was formed just two years ago from the amalgamation of CERT, the tourism training agency, and the former Bord Fáilte. It provides a range of services to support and facilitate the successful sustainable development of the Irish tourism industry. Our focus is the tourism product in its broadest definition. I refer here to the quality of the offering experienced by visitors once they arrive in Ireland, from the warmth of the welcome and the top class service to the infrastructure in place, as well as the range of appealing activities and attractions. Effectively, our aim is to put in place a one stop shop for the tourism industry to provide research and enterprise development, funding and advice on product development, tourism education and training. We are also responsible for the development and promotion of the home holiday market — an increasingly important sector in the overall context — and special interest tourism, including golf, walking, angling and heritage, and, of course, business tourism, which includes conferences and meetings.
In common with our sister Government agencies, we are committed to supporting the industry and achieving the targets laid down in the report of the tourism policy review group chaired by Mr. John Travers. Those targets effectively call for a doubling of tourism revenue and a near doubling of overseas visitor numbers in the period 2002-12. The targets were challenging from the outset and they remain so. However, they are attainable provided there is a concerted effort to make an impact during the next two or three years.
It might be useful to comment on trends during the season to date this year. Overall, 2005 is turning out to be a challenging year for the tourism industry. The absence of official data from the CSO hinders a solid assessment but, according to our latest industry survey, business to date this year is probably at best on a par with the same period last year. It should be noted that 2004 was a record year for overseas visitor numbers and home holidays. It is clear that a number of consumer trends have been converging in recent years to make business much more difficult for a number of sectors. While hoteliers and car hire firms are relatively positive about 2005 to date, bed and breakfast establishments and guesthouses are reporting much more difficult market conditions and even some of our visitor attractions are reporting likewise.
In regional terms, the midlands, the east, the south west — especially Cork — and Dublin are reporting some increases in bed nights, in other words increases in business, with Shannon holding fairly steady. However, the west, the north west and the south east are reporting ongoing challenges. In terms of the context for that trend, we must remember that there has been enormous investment, both public and private, in the tourism sector. For example, the number of hotel rooms available in Ireland in the past five years has increased by approximately 8,000 and the availability of probably another 3,000 is planned for the coming year. There has been an explosion in capacity, which has had an impact on how the industry indicates how well it is performing. While occupancy rates are holding steady, they mask a sizeable increase in capacity.
I presume members will be familiar with the key consumer trend, to which I referred, namely, the move towards shorter and more frequent breaks booked at the last minute and more often to cities and urban centres. In Ireland's case, that typically means the east coast. Reports from the car hire sector this year are encouraging for regional tourism. They are an indicator of people moving around the regions, something of which we want to see more. In addition, there is the development of flights to the regions, if I can include Cork Airport in this regard, along the west coast. There are 30,000 inbound seats available every week to locations on the west coast. These are positive indicators for what hopefully will be a recovery in business in that part of the country.
One consumer trend — which is a significant development in Europe — that holds some potential for Ireland is our ageing population. I refer to the cohort of people aged 55 and over who are cash and time rich and who have interests in heritage, culture and outdoor activities in terms of pursuits to promote health and well-being, which is much of what we have to offer. It is a sector that we would do well to monitor closely and target in a proactive manner.
I have already referred to business tourism as an important area for development. Last year we established a business tourism forum which has a partnership approach with industry. We have identified some concrete ways in which we can try to maximise Ireland's share of this €400 million market. Infrastructure such as the national conference centre will give added impetus to our work. This year alone we expect in the region of 25,000 people to travel here to attend conferences. That is high yield business, the attraction of which is an overriding goal going forward. This is not only about attracting extra numbers but also about seeking to match that with higher revenue, which is quite a challenge.
Another trend which has had a positive effect on the regions is the growth in the number of Irish people taking breaks at home. That market is worth in the region of €1 billion per year. It is important, particularly during off-peak periods. Some 40% of the Irish population took at least one break at home last year. We are investing approximately €3.3 million this year in developing the home market, with our website, which is linked into the regional websites around the country, designed to offer value packages to the consumer. There are in the region of 100,000 visits per week to that website.
We maintain our often stated view that improved regional spread is the most important challenge facing the Irish tourism industry. This demands a stronger and better funded regional tourism structure, more directly integrated with national marketing and product development strategies. Currently, we invest approximately €27 million in regional tourism for local festivals, product development, training and enterprise support. This year we are also providing about €8 million directly to the regional tourism authorities, which is probably a doubling of what we were giving about two years ago.
In direct response to the recommendation of the Tourism Policy Review Group, we commissioned a review of regional tourism structures late last year. It was the first detailed review of those structures in 40 years and was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The review strongly advocates a much wider brief for regional tourism and the regionalisation of some of our own activities. These proposals have been discussed by our board and are now with the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, for his consideration.
As well as our focus on satisfying overseas and home customers, we are also here to serve the needs of the industry itself. The main operational issues of tourism businesses, which will be of no surprise to the committee but remain top of the list from our own surveys, are staffing and labour costs in first and second place, followed by high running costs, especially for smaller businesses. We believe that staff development is a key to sustainable and more competitive tourism in the future. Tourism is all about people, staff as well as visitors, and we know from our annual visitors' survey that the warmth of the welcome and the spirit of the Irish people are among the top three reasons people come here in the first place. We are mindful of that. By providing excellent service, whether in hotels, restaurants, bars or shops, Ireland can differentiate itself and can provide a value for money experience to visitors, and further improved staff training and productivity is the key to greater competitiveness.
In May last we published a human resource development strategy for the tourism industry. Within that we identified the need for approximately 6,000 additional workers per year to service the needs of this industry up to 2010. I need not remind anybody what a daunting task that is in an economy that is working at near full employment. We reckon about one in four of that current workforce is non-national and that proportion will probably grow. This is the reality of the demographic profile of the country. We will continue to invest heavily through our training budget of approximately €15 million in developing small business and attracting more school-leavers into the industry. Even in that regard, the cohort of school-leavers is also in decline over the next few years. The reality is we will probably have a more cosmopolitan workforce and it is a challenge for the industry and for ourselves to ensure that we can manage that cultural diversity and leverage it to our advantage.
I have mentioned a few points but I am sure there are issues the members may wish to discuss with us. In summary, we believe there is enormous potential for the tourism sector. Great progress has been made in certain areas. No doubt the industry is undergoing structural shifts in response to consumer trends and we can see that in the performance of various sectors in the industry at present. It is a dynamic industry. It has come through very tough challenges in the past and we are confident of its prospects in the future. Our challenge is to ensure that its development occurs in a way that optimises the outcomes for the country and its regions and, ultimately, that we have a secure and sustainable tourism industry providing excellent value.
Considering today's turnout, there is significant interest in this subject. I want to ask a number of brief pertinent questions. This was one of first questions we asked the regional tourism authorities. Given that so many people deliver tourism, are there many people falling between stools or is there co-ordination at present? Is there duplication between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, or are the two organisations aware of what each other is doing while being separate and then linking back down to the local organisations?
Mr. Quinn mentioned Fáilte Ireland's website, which many people say is difficult to locate. In addition, it is important that the site is frequently updated and includes pop-up boxes with information on low-cost airlines flying to particular regions. Such information would be beneficial in determining from what airports airlines such as Jet2 or bmibaby operate. Would it be possible for Fáilte Ireland to include on its website pop-up boxes which would provide people with Internet offers in respect of particular locations?
Is Fáilte Ireland satisfied with product development, particularly in the weaker regions? A particular product development in my area is the car ferry across the River Foyle, which will soon carry its one millionth customer. That service has resulted in people from the UK accessing Ireland through the north coast, something which is against the national trend.
People abroad are aware of Ireland through Enya, U2, Westlife and James Joyce. In Japan recently we met a number of people who had read Ulysses and who will soon visit Ireland. Does Fáilte Ireland interact with the Arts Council or the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism to try to maximise funding for development in this area? Is the funding needed to ensure that visitors to Ireland have something adequate to see?
Mr. Quinn spoke of the need for training in respect of staff, particularly non-nationals. Is it possible to develop a rolling programme which would ensure that those who are unsuccessful in obtaining training in a particular year are not obliged to wait until the following year to get it? I am aware of a hotel which encountered such a problem when seeking to upskill its staff. It is possible that the hotel could obtain a bad reputation for not having qualified staff.
The value of tourism to rural Ireland has never been as important, particularly in light of the decline in agriculture and the difficulty in attracting foreign direct investment into areas outside the main urban centres. The only source of revenue to rural Ireland is through tourism. Perhaps Mr. Quinn would give the joint committee his views on the recent ITIC report which illustrates a worrying and dramatic fall-off in the number of visitors to the regions and suggests that we should develop a spatial strategy for tourism. The fall-off in the south west, one of the most important regions in the country, was approximately 6% between 1999-2003. In the Shannon region, the British market fell by more than 1 million bed nights and the European market declined by 19%. Will Mr. Quinn explain the reason for that decline to the joint committee?
In the west, almost 500,000 bed nights were lost from the British holiday market. Business in that area is down 33% since 1999. There was also a drop of almost 350,000 bed nights in the north west between 1999-2003, a decline of 21%. While the number of visitors nationally is increasing, the number of bed nights is, unfortunately, down.
It is also worrying that Irish tourists spend approximately €100 million more abroad than we receive from the internal market. I would like Fáilte Ireland to comment on the need for a spatial tourism strategy to ensure the spread of tourism spend across the country. Representatives of Dublin Tourism came before the committee and we all applauded them on its success in capturing the new type of tourism. I accept that it is up to the regions to sell their strengths and capture a new type of tourist. The latter is not about competing with Dublin.
Can Fáilte Ireland account for the fall in the number of walkers coming to Ireland? There appears to be ideal walking terrain throughout the country. We have some excellent established walks but there is difficulty with access in some places. The number of walkers coming here since the 1990s has declined dramatically, as has the number of golfers. Why is that the case? This is the type of tourism — leisure tourism — from which rural areas benefit substantially. There was a proposal in the ITIC report that we should establish a leisure tourism forum, no doubt to try to win back market share. I occasionally go on walking tours and I must say that the standard of marked walks in countries such as Austria, which specialises in this area and where the winter ski slopes become the summer walking routes, is far superior to that of Irish walks. Some walks here may not be in place if one returns to them a year later or bridges may have disappeared. There is no proper maintenance. What is Fáilte Ireland's reaction in this regard?
The ITIC report also mentions the role of marketing. When Bord Fáilte existed, it had responsibility for developing the domestic market and selling it abroad. Does Tourism Ireland have a difficulty in this area? It has the responsibility of selling all of the island, something that everyone supports, but does its brief mean that it must concentrate more on selling the North rather than the Republic because of the ground the former needed to make up? Is there a concentration on the North to the detriment of the Republic or is it a level playing pitch? Does the fact that Fáilte Ireland does not have an international marketing brief pose difficulties for the organisation? It is developing the product here but it is not carrying that product to the marketplace. This is an important issue.
An overview has been taken of the role of the RTAs. Are there a multiplicity of agencies attending holiday fairs? In some cases, all of them are present. There are local marketing groups within the RTAs where people set up their own local group and produce their own literature. Many people would say that there is much confusion in the area. Ireland is a small country and when we try to sell the local area or region, people do not really understand where the demarcation lines lie. Will the delegation comment on that issue?
If there is no investment in attractions or product development in rural areas, it is difficult to encourage tourists to visit them. Tourists will not go to places without attractions. We can all find examples in our own area, like the ferry in the Chairman's area. This year Listowel Castle has opened, which has made a considerable difference already. Although this has been a patchy season in Kerry, the local tourist office advises that more people are coming to the town owing to the castle.
Did it have planning permission?
The castle was built in the 15th century and while it is the tallest building in the town, no planning permission was required at the time.
They should have erected the statue at the same time.
The Deputy should talk to his Fianna Fáil colleagues who blocked it. They clearly do not agree with the Deputy.
I apologise for interrupting.
The Deputy may interrupt me at any time he likes for the next 20 minutes. People will come to a town with an attraction. The last tourism product development programme made it very difficult for local groups in particular to get grant aid. It was very restrictive, bureaucratic and difficult and it did not help local community groups in making proposals. They needed to get someone to underwrite their projects. In many cases, local authorities were not prepared to underwrite them, which meant they needed to get some business person to do so and no one was willing to take a chance. They were also required to have matching funds in the bank, which made it very difficult. A project estimated at €1 million required having 40% matching funds in the bank. While it is somewhat different for local authorities, the funding for the next programme should be more accessible for communities.
The Transport (Working Time) Directive will have major implications for the coach industry. Has Fáilte Ireland studied the directive? A driver is only permitted to work a particular number of hours per week after which he must be replaced. A driver in Donegal working for a company based in Munster might need to be replaced. The directive will cause major problems for the tour-bus industry. Were it not for tour-buses people would not go to many parts of rural Ireland.
Does Fáilte Ireland have any initiatives to sell — even internally — the attractiveness of our horse racing industry, which has now become very prominent on the world stage following our recent successes in the major events across the world? A survey carried out in Galway last year indicated that the Galway races were worth approximately €60 million to the local community.
I agree with the Chairman on the issue of e-marketing. Most bookings are now made across the Internet. The small operators across the country, which have not embraced the technology, will find it very difficult. One bed and breakfast establishment in Carrig Island in the Shannon Estuary is doing very well as it is selling its product through the Internet. Given that Fáilte Ireland is involved in the development of tourism, does it have a policy to encourage more small, medium and large operators to use the Internet more for selling their products?
I plan to return to Waterford shortly to attend a function organised as part of the Tall Ships event, which has been marvellous for the local area. The buzz last evening was something to behold and I wish more of the same to all of us.
British motorists have been good for the Waterford area but are in shorter supply than previously. Irish motorists travelling to Cherbourg have the incentive to buy wine without paying duty which helps the ferry service compete with low air fares. While I am aware that duty free facilities were abolished long ago, it will be necessary to introduce an attraction of this type to win back solid tourists who spend well. I do not know what is the answer but it is to be found in the broader area of duty free or in introducing ways to help people save money when purchasing products they intend to buy in any case.
Another issue which has featured strongly in this discussion is a recent 20% decline in the bed and breakfast and guesthouse accommodation sector. I am concerned that such accommodation tends to be located in areas where little is happening. It has also been suggested, for instance, that when this type of business passes on to members of the younger generation, they are not inclined to make the same commitment as the original owners. A total of 8,000 additional hotel beds have become available and, as Mr. Quinn stated, a further 3,000 are in the pipeline. These will also have an effect on the market because hotel bed prices are moving closer to the price of bed and breakfast accommodation.
All speakers mentioned the ongoing problem of regional spread. How are Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland addressing this issue? On the issue of air access, while it is great to learn that additional capacity of 30,000 seats has become available along the western seaboard, the south-east region also needs more seats. As Mr. Quinn stated, the south east is one of the challenged regions. As cultural tourism was discussed at length by Deputy Deenihan and the website was mentioned by two previous speakers, I will leave my contribution at that.
What role does Fáilte Ireland play in the diversity of the tourism product? I refer specifically to the angling industry and the problem of drift netting of salmon. What role does Fáilte Ireland envisage playing in respect of this issue, given that Ireland is in danger of killing an important source of tourism? Will the organisation proactively lobby to get a resolution to the problem? I hope the delegation agrees that while angling is a major tourism sector with the potential to grow, it is in crisis and will die. How proactive will Fáilte Ireland be in trying to ensure this element of the tourism industry survives?
I thank the Chairman for affording me an opportunity to attend this meeting and welcome Mr. Quinn and Mr. Connolly. Tourism is an important, labour intensive industry and its development requires cross-party support. I commend the delegates on their work and wish them well because it is a very important industry.
Mr. Quinn said the tourism figures for 2005 are on a par with those for last year. Does he believe there has been a decline? He mentioned a decline in the figure pertaining to bed and breakfast accommodation for 2005. Can he explain this?
Mr. Quinn also stated there was an increase in the number of bed nights in hotels and bed and breakfast establishments across Dublin city. Are there any projects or strategies to develop the tourism industry in the northside of Dublin, that is, along Dublin Bay, Clontarf, Dollymount and out as far as Howth, particularly given that Dollymount strand got a blue flag for its lack of pollution? There is some tourism in this region, particularly when international rugby matches are played. Many people come over from England, Wales and Scotland and stay in the Clontarf area because there is a rugby club there. There is a bond between the respective clubs. Has Fáilte Ireland ideas for developing this area? Many people from the northside feel it is often neglected.
The west of Ireland is under major pressure and experiencing great difficulties. Has Fáilte Ireland strategies to attract more tourists there?
Has there been a negative impact on the tourism industry because of the introduction of the smoking ban? When one meets people outside pubs and hotels, one hears them saying they will not return to Ireland the following year as a consequence of the smoking ban. Is it true that there is potential to lose 25% of the European and international markets as a consequence? I base my question on hearsay having spoken to people in the industry.
What is the negative impact of high costs and prices? Some Members use the phrase "rip-off Ireland" in this regard. Is there an understanding in the industry that hotels and restaurants have major costs associated with staff and insurance? The profit margin is very low, particularly for restaurants. I know this from having spoken to people in the trade. Do the delegates have any ideas as to how to assist these people?
On the announcement today that the Olympic Games will be held in London in 2012, do the delegates have any ideas or strategies to exploit this fact given that Ireland is just across the water? There will be thousands of people visiting London in 2012 and they will want to acclimatise and prepare themselves for the games. Is there any way in which Dublin could benefit in this regard? Many people coming to London will want to nip over to Dublin for a few days. The Olympic Games offer potential to develop the tourism industry before 2012.
On the broader issue, having spoken to people in the trade I have regularly heard them complain that we are losing the warm, friendly, casual, mannerly approach to our tourists that obtained 20 years ago. Some feel it would be lost only for immigrant workers in the trade, who are very courteous to other staff and tourists and providing a great service. Is this friendly approach declining or are people's fears just based on hearsay?
I call on Deputy Glennon.
With the Chairman's permission, I will allow Mr. Quinn to respond to the many questions that have already been asked. I will wait until after his response.
I wish to pose just two questions, the first of which was alluded to by Deputy Deenihan as I entered. It concerns funding for community tourism projects. It is almost impossible for a community tourism project to get off the ground. There were four projects in 2005 and not one of them got of the ground. Fáilte Ireland made it impossible for them by looking for 100% guarantees the community groups could not provide. Local authorities could only offer €12,500 per year, any more would require permission from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The groups then had to seek private funding but that can only go so far.
Community tourism projects are being killed off. In my constituency, the Little Elf project, a model railway village, had progressed as far as it could with an enormous investment and had the potential for 70,000 visitors per year linking with other projects. It did not, however, get the go-ahead and my colleagues have told me about similar difficulties in other areas. Why is support for community projects so restricted? Why must they provide so much back-up? Can Fáilte Ireland not use the research that has been done and support them? Community tourism projects have enormous potential due to the voluntary nature of parts of them and the links they normally enjoy with other areas such as bed and breakfast accommodation.
Fáilte Ireland should persuade the Shannon Fisheries Board to drop the permit it requires on some of the rivers. Three tributaries of the River Shannon and the River Shannon itself are restricted to permit holders. Anglers will not go to a permit area when one is not necessary a few miles away. This applies to east Galway and Roscommon. It kills off opportunities in these areas. Fáilte Ireland should be proactive and tell the Shannon Fisheries Board that it is interfering with tourism promotion by imposing permit restrictions in small catchment areas. It makes no sense and wastes promotional opportunities when people ask why they are charged in only two small areas. How can we explain that to people?
Has Fáilte Ireland received any feedback from tourism outlets, be they hotels, bars or bed and breakfast establishments? I have got feedback from American tourists who have mentioned how rare it is to be served by an Irish person. That is a feature of commercial life but has Fáilte Ireland received any feedback on that issue?
I compliment Fáilte Ireland on its investment in the Lough Key forest park development. It is a flagship project that will cost some €8 million. It is great to see so many bodies such as Coillte, Roscommon County Council, Fáilte Ireland and local development groups coming together to develop an attractive tourism project, which I understand is going out to tender either this week or next. It will have a positive impact on the Lough Key forest park area.
There are many queries for Mr. Quinn to deal with. Deputy McGrath suggested that the awarding of the 2012 Olympic Games to London would present opportunities for Dublin to exploit. I hope the island of Ireland benefits from any strategy that might emerge and that Fáilte Ireland interacts with bodies like the NCTCs to offer Olympic villages so that the benefits are not confined to Dublin.
Mr. Quinn
I and Mr. Malcolm Connolly will try to address all the points raised. The Chairman asked if the plethora of bodies working in tourism worked in a co-ordinated way. The answer is "Yes" and "No". At national level there is a good working relationship between Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. I and my chair are on the board of Tourism Ireland and both bodies work seamlessly. Fáilte Ireland is also closely linked with the regional tourism authorities through board membership, funding and co-operative programmes on the ground.
Outside of that the picture is not so good. The last count two years ago came up with a figure of some 33 bodies dispersing funds or active in tourism in one way or another across a number of Departments. It is questionable whether all were working together. The tourism policy review group set up to look at the subregional structures and how well integrated they were identified this as an issue. On a national, international and regional level there is a good level of co-operation and integration. When we consider providing funding, such as to the regional bodies, we are cognisant of the activities of Tourism Ireland so that duplication is avoided.
The development of e-marketing and websites is near the top of our agenda. We are operating in a cluttered and noisy market place where people get switched off very easily by advertising and the world-wide web is the way forward. There is some way to go to achieve best practice from the point of view of the agencies and the enterprises, large and small. We have invested heavily in our own site for the home market and the response so far this year indicates we did the right thing. We carried out some research last year which indicated that the Irish consumer has grown more accustomed to what might be called the Ryanair phenomenon than tourists in other countries. They expect to do business with their fingertips.
Tourism Ireland has also placed e-marketing and website development high on its agenda and Fáilte Ireland is working closely with it to develop a comprehensive database to drive its website. The regional tourism authorities have upgraded their own websites which are linked to ours and to that of Tourism Ireland. The industry itself has made fairly significant progress in this area. It is an area where small business can achieve a great deal at very little cost and we have provided funding through our own small business programmes to several thousand bed and breakfast premises. This enables these businesses to get up to a speed where they can communicate and compete on the same level as large enterprises. Although the scale of investment is not big, at least the businesses are competing. In future, the world-wide web will be the map used by people, not the one supplied by the AA. If a business is not on the web, for many people that business will not exist.
With regard to whether the product development scheme is worthwhile, statistics to date suggest that about 30 projects have been approved for grant aid of about €16 million. This could be a reasonably healthy level of response. We are to some extent critical of the scheme, which was not of our making. We find it to be bureaucratic and difficult for community groups. We are currently developing a new product development scheme which will be initiated sometime next year and onwards. To take the point of drawing down funding, the guarantees and underwriting sought were not a Fáilte Ireland condition. We are expected to oblige the condition nonetheless, and any entity like Fáilte Ireland would have to include the clause. It did not make the process of applying for and drawing down grant aid any easier. Significant lessons can be taken from the current scheme in our design of a new one.
On arts and culture, we are working closely with our parent Department in what is termed a synergies project. Although I do not like using the word, it is recognised that great synergy, or fit, exists between culture, sport and tourism. We have had much progress with sport, taking for example the Ryder Cup, which is third in the sporting world in terms of television coverage and which is coming to Ireland next year. We have done particularly well with golf. I agree that more can be done with regard to horse racing and other equine activities. We have only scratched the surface of arts and culture, and a forum has been set up by the Secretary General in the Department to see how our cultural heritage can be quickly leveraged for the benefit of tourism. I hope that if I am sitting here at this time next year I would have a lot more to say about this issue.
With regard to the rolling training programmes, our own programmes train about 10,000 people a year and are of a rolling nature. The difficulty is that the training put through the education sector, the institutes of technology, works to academic years. Our own training is rolling, flexible and can be initiated in any part or parish of the country. It is designed to be like this. Mr. Malcolm Connolly will take the ITIC report as there were a number of questions on regionality.
We co-funded the ITIC report and many statistics contained in it are drawn from our own. We recognised that a regional disparity existed, with a spatial disparity in the regions themselves. For example, in Ireland West Tourism's area, Galway city and Westport would be winners for the most part, with the more rural areas being losers for the most part. This is a difficulty. A good example of the regions working together is a scheme we are co-funding in part and in conjunction with Tourism Ireland. It involves three regions, Shannon Region Tourism, Ireland West Tourism and North West Tourism working together in key markets where new access is possible to develop greater demand within the region. Key access will be critical. Much money is spent on regional marketing through a number of areas.
The home market is largely driven from east to west or from north to south. We spend a considerable amount on the festival programme and on direct subsidies to the regional companies which partly pays for work they carry out on our behalf and the TIO infrastructure. In total what is regionally oriented is probably in excess of €25 million.
It is increasingly evident that the international growth in holidays is in secondary holidays and people coming to north-western European countries. People can take only so many holidays. That means shorter holidays because there is a limit to how many holidays one can take and how long they can be. Accessibility and direct access is, therefore, of critical importance. We have seen a total change in the type of holiday and in the market in which Ireland is competing, particularly in the British market which is still the biggest market. Many people now take their longer holidays in long haul destinations, which is probably the fastest growing market in Europe in the past ten years. Good access is, therefore, critical. I am glad to say that Cork, Shannon and a number of other airports have outgrown Dublin in terms of the total direct capacity into the region.
It is important to have the infrastructure on the ground but, given that Dublin is still the main source of traffic inflow for most of the regions, it is very important that the internal access structure, particularly the road network, is of good quality. That is improving. Much is being done, but there is still a deficit.
The regional structures, by their nature, are administrative structures, and they are not always what the traveller wants. It is, therefore, very important that the offering made to consumers is a meaningful one from their point of view so that the administrative parameters of the regions become less important and what is offered becomes more important, both in terms of the description of the region and the type of product offered.
We have been asked why we are losing out. One reason is that the markets which traditionally used to go to the west of Ireland have been the slowest growing economic markets in Europe over the past ten years. The German market used to go to the south west, the French market to the west and the Dutch market to the south west and the west. The German and French markets have had many economic challenges and are slow-growing. The newer markets, the Italian market but particularly the Spanish, Portuguese and smaller markets are more oriented towards and must include a capital city when deciding where to go. They are not as driven to going to the more rural areas.
Within Britain itself the development of the Ryanair initiative into Dublin initially drove a lot of additional market into the Dublin region. The car-brought market on which the south east and many other areas have depended has declined and continues to decline whereas there is growth in the air market. However, the air market, by definition, would be a ten day maximum. The cost of car hire here is as competitive as it is anywhere else, but when people go on holidays and hire a car, there is a limit to the time they feel it worthwhile to do so. Many factors come into play which mean one must focus much more on the marketing propositions one puts forward. The good side of it is that up to now it has to some extent disguised but also helped to maintain the domestic market which has grown substantially over recent years. There will be huge challenges now because much of the new access, even into Shannon and other such areas, is oriented as much towards outgoing as incoming traffic, so there is a risk of leakage from the Irish market and we must keep sharp and be competitive.
On the individual products, we were very strong image-wise in individual products such as walking and cycling holidays and so on. Until about six or seven years ago, Ireland had a definite competitive advantage in most markets, but the outbreak of foot and mouth disease — I am going back a few years now — had an impact on the industry. We never really recovered from that but there has been a decline in the number of products since that time. We are all aware of the plethora of problems surrounding the course angling area initially in terms of pollution of waters, in game angling with the decline in stocks and in cycling with the increase in traffic on the roads. It is up to us to try to tailor those products in a way that is manageable and puts some impetus into some of the areas.
In the area of angling, which was mentioned earlier, there is a clear gap between the view of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources on the value of a buy-out as against that of the people involved in the drift netting campaign. We are trying to push that along and are taking an added interest in it.
Mr. Quinn
If I can make a general comment on the walking and drift netting issues and the working time directive as it impacts on the coach tours, a large part of our work involves being an advocate, not for the tourism industry but for developing what is good in tourism. We spend a large amount of our time working behind the scenes trying to influence others. I made the point earlier, although I am sure members are aware of this already, that success in tourism depends greatly on what happens in other areas of the economy. We do not have control over that. We have to try to influence others by working with the walking and farming communities. We have been working with the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for more than a year on that aspect alone. That is a large part of what we do. We try to bring solutions to the table. I want to make it clear that we do not operate by megaphone because it is not that effective.
There is a general point to be made about the bed and breakfast sector. To my mind, that is a rural issue because as it was rightly said earlier, the issue is more urban versus rural than Dublin versus the rest of the country. Our urban centres outside Dublin do equally well. There is some truth in the issue about new generations coming into that sector and the impact of growth in hotel capacity, but we are concerned about what is happening in the bed and breakfast sector, particularly from an overseas perspective. It is less important from a domestic perspective but from an overseas perspective the sector does not have what is called a USP, unique selling point, that we want to see nurtured and grow.
We are in the middle of an extensive review of the bed and breakfast sector. It has been under way for a few months and will be completed in the next few weeks. The review is aimed at working with the bed and breakfast sector to try to position it in a much more competitive market here at home. In that way it cannot just maintain its existence but grow. Does Mr. Connolly want to add anything to that?
It is still an important selling point for Ireland, particularly in the American market and to a lesser extent in the European market. Within the domestic market, however, and to some extent the British market, it has probably lost out somewhat. Changes are taking place within the supply side of the bed and breakfast sector in that many of the proprietors are getting older and the younger people do not have an interest in terms of start-ups, but it remains an important element of the appeal of Ireland, particularly in the US and other long-haul markets on which we are completing a study.
Substantial marketing efforts have been ongoing for a few years now through the associations and an SME programme. We have also been involved in a number of schemes to try to get them into additional segments such as the coach tour market where the people stay in individual houses and so on. We have taken a number of other initiatives to try to generate some business to those areas.
Mr. Quinn
If I may, I will comment on the position in Dublin because I am conscious that we have talked at length about the regions. In this context, Dublin is as important as the regions. I am aware there is an issue concerning Dollymount. We are members of the new Dublin tourism task force which was established a few weeks ago. An important point is that tourism in Dublin needs to grow. There is great potential for Dublin to grow more business from Europe and to attract different profiles of tourists from the British market. It is not a case of Dublin growing at the expense of the rest of the country. They are two different markets. It is not that the people who travel to Dublin used to travel to the west. The argument can be simplified to it being a case of Dublin versus the rest of the country but they are two completely different markets. Both have their challenges and the potential to grow, and they must do so. If Dublin, being the capital city, grows its business, that will help the rest of the country.
Mr. Quinn's last point was a nice introduction for me to contribute. While Deputy Finian McGrath might disagree with me on this point, is there a magnet encouraging visitors on leaving the airport to turn right and head for the city? The area of north County Dublin has fallen between the two stools in terms of the regionalisation of tourism. North County Dublin is part of Dublin Tourism but its demographics have much more in common with the north-eastern tourism area such as the Boyne Valley and the Carlingford Peninsula. North County Dublin is lost between those two regions. That is a side issue which I am sure Mr. Quinn will not have minded my raising.
The all-Ireland aspect of tourism promotion has not been mentioned. I would be interested to hear the representatives' comments on the consequences of marketing the island, now that the structures are in place, at least for a short period, to do that.
Mr. Connolly and Mr. Quinn mentioned long-haul travel and its importance, particularly in the context of the length of stay of the typical long-haul traveller. A delegation from this committee visited Japan on St. Patrick's Day. We had many discussions with people involved in tourism there. One of the points forcefully made to us was the size of the Japanese market and the opportunity it represented for Ireland but, from the point of view of the Japanese tourism industry, it is necessary to have available the service of a direct flight between Japan and Ireland. An essential element in terms of the psyche of the Japanese tourist is point to point travel with no interim hub stop-offs. Negotiations are at a very advanced stage for a major expansion of Aer Lingus's long haul capability. I am not saying that Aer Lingus should introduce flights to Tokyo tomorrow but how important is the development of Aer Lingus's long-haul capacity to the development of the longer stay tourist to this country?
In case people think that every time we go abroad we are sunning ourselves and drinking wine for the benefit of a front page headline on the Evening Herald, another delegation of which I was a member travelled to Australia during the past 12 months. We spent an interesting day with those involved in tourism in Melbourne who have developed a major business based solely on events. Every week or, even allowing for exaggeration, every second week they have a major event, be it a sporting event, major concert or a major conference, in the city of Melbourne.
I was interested in Mr. Quinn's comments on the development of tourism along lines based on the arts, culture and sport. We have been doing extremely well from a sports point of view but I wonder how much of that has been co-ordinated. There have been individual events, the principal example of which is obviously the Ryder Cup. The 2005 Tall Ships Race is another such example. Looking at it from the outside, it appears that such events are locally driven and just happen to be forming part of an overall picture. I would be interested to know how much of that is driven centrally and to hear Mr. Quinn's views on the potential of it, particularly on the potential for an organised scheduled targeted framework for these events, especially with the conference centre coming on stream and the talk of a four-year lead-in time for major events of that type. Another good example of what I mean is today's announcement that London will host the 2012 Olympics, which is great news for this country. Racing was also mentioned.
I look at the issue also on the micro level. There is also potential within individual organisations for scaled down events. In my local area a fortnight ago, 30,000 people attended two pop concerts, last week 30,000 people attended motorcycle road racing and in a fortnight some 15,000 people will attend an Andrea Bocelli concert. A phased sequence of major events every second week is developing in the area but it is not being done an organised basis. These events are occurring rather than a schedule of events being promoted. I am interested to know if Mr. Quinn has views on that, particularly in the light of the Melbourne experience.
I apologise for being late. My party's spokesman, Deputy Deenihan, has probably covered the national issues. Incidentally, I suppose I myself was a tourist this morning as I returned from Washington on a trip similar to Deputy Glennon's.
The pattern of tourism in my county and the north west is changing rapidly. I remember that ten, 20, 25 or 30 years ago complete families would come from the UK, particularly Northern Ireland, to our neck of the woods to stay for a fortnight at this time of year. That was their summer vacation. That was their annual break. We now find that many such people go elsewhere, probably to other countries. If they come at all, it is just for a weekend or a long weekend. We need to re-adapt to meet the changing patterns and their interests. I do not know whether we are doing that adequately. Something must be done, however, because the traditional holidaymakers are gone. I remember that people would come to areas such as Dunfanaghy and Portnablagh for a fortnight's full board in a hotel. They are no longer willing to do that, probably for a number of reasons.
On cultural tourism, some of the most successful events in my area relate to culture, language and music. For example, the Frankie Kennedy Winter School brings hundreds of people to Donegal around Christmas and the new year. There is also the Glencolumbkille experience, involving Oideas Gael, which brings visitors all year round from different parts of the world to learn the language, culture etc. Perhaps it is an area on which Fáilte Ireland should focus.
The Official Languages Act includes obligations for signposting in Irish. We all have heard of the Dingle syndrome. Does Fáilte Ireland have views on this? Will it create difficulties or will it be an advantage to Gaeltacht areas for the placenames to be in Irish? It is a talking point, irrespective of the part of the country concerned. A submission signed by the people of Dingle was made to the Department today. Some 92% of them favour the use of "Dingle" rather than "An Daingean". While I have an open mind on that, I would like to hear Fáilte Ireland's view on it.
My fourth point relates to my personal experience in different parts of the country in terms of rip-off Ireland. While the price of a meal in some places includes all the trimmings such as main course, dessert and so on, in others one is required to pay €3, €4 or €5 for, say, fish and €3 to €5 for potatoes and €3 or €4 for broccoli or onions with the complete bill coming to around €60. Previously, when one went out for a meal the price included the main course and all the trimmings. There has been much comment on that issue. I met a man in Washington last Sunday night who also commented on it and suggested that a main course should include all the trimmings.
I apologise to Deputy Wall for having jumped in ahead of him but I must attend another meeting.
I, too, welcome Mr. Quinn and Mr. Connolly who have been forthright in expressing their views in response to issues already raised. I draw a number of issues to the delegation's attention.
There has been much discussion on how culture can be developed. Cork has been designated European city of culture. How has that designation been reflected in terms of the numbers visiting Cork, both nationally and internationally? The effects on tourism of Cork and Shannon airports was referred to. What is being done in terms of the development of tourism vis-à-vis the regional airports, in particular as regards racing? I have been in contact with Horse Racing Ireland to which I have stressed the need to develop three-day rather than one-day events in places such as Sligo, Bellewstown and Ballinrobe. Parts of the west such as Roscommon hold four-day race meetings. Galway has its own identity in that regard. Other areas could be developed to create a holiday atmosphere thereby bringing a greater percentage of people to Ireland. Most of the meetings in the west are held at the right time of year to allow that to happen.
There has been much discussion on the different boards and their particular areas of responsibility. There appears to be tremendous fragmentation in the regional boards. There is insufficient link-up between Fáilte Ireland and the regional boards to facilitate maximum results from funding. That type of fragmentation is of major concern as it does not help in dealing with the bigger picture.
Angling has been mentioned. I come from south Kildare which has many waterways and canals, yet boating in that area has not been developed. Kildare has links from New Ross to the top of the Shannon. While there is major development of that aspect of tourism in many other European countries, it is not happening in Ireland. Perhaps I am wrong but I have noticed very little movement of boats on the loughs at this time of year. A recent festival in Athy attracted some 50 or 60 boats to the area for a weekend.
What is being done to lessen the impact of the rip-off image of Ireland abroad? We seem to be losing the battle in that regard. The issue comes up regularly in the newspapers, but we seldom see an alternative view offered or seldom see it argued by Fáilte Ireland or others in the tourism industry that the points made are contentious or misleading. This morning I mentioned to members of the board of Horse Racing Ireland that they do not fight positively in this regard, despite having the information to do so. I suggest Fáilte Ireland and others should take a stronger line in this regard. If we do not do this, the image will become part and parcel of our industry and cause major problems in the future.
I met a woman from Tokyo on the Aircoach yesterday evening and when I told her I was there recently and found it quite expensive, she replied that she did not think it was any more expensive than Dublin.
I thank the Fáilte Ireland representatives for their presentation which mentioned air access. I welcome the increase in air access, particularly in the west. The increase comes mainly through Shannon as a result of the deal with Ryanair to set up a significant European base there.
Has Fáilte Ireland any comment to make on transatlantic passenger numbers and air access? We often hear that tour operators in the United States are concerned about the lack of capacity over the summer months. What has Fáilte Ireland to say regarding the current situation?
Is Fáilte Ireland in the process of developing a strategy on the dispersal of tourists from the east to the west of the country in the event of any changes in the current bilateral arrangement? It has been flagged for some time that the open skies bilateral agreement between Ireland and the United States may change as a result of negotiations between the European Union and the United States. That will obviously have an effect on some direct flights into the west of Ireland. Is Fáilte Ireland developing a strategy to ensure the west continues to get its fair share of American tourism if this happens?
On a complimentary note, I recognise the tremendous work Fáilte Ireland has done through the product development initiative, in particular in County Clare through the investment grant to the Cliffs of Moher project. This project is of immense benefit to Clare and the west. The Cliffs of Moher are one of the premier tourist attractions in the west and have in the region of 750,000 visitors annually. The Fáilte Ireland grant to Clare County Council for this project will ensure that the facilities a modern society expects will be put in place. The project cost is upwards of €30 million and is hugely welcome for the continued promotion of tourism in the west of Ireland.
I acknowledge the input made by Fáilte Ireland and its capacity to work with all the players involved, despite the fact that, as Mr. Quinn pointed out, the scheme was not Fáilte Ireland's, nor was the bureaucracy involved to its liking. Fáilte Ireland has shown great capacity to work with groups and deal adequately with the bureaucratic nature of the scheme as originally developed.
We have gone through our business without once mentioning rail services. I travelled by train to Cork last weekend and returned from Cork to Dublin and on to Belfast before driving home. I looked at the map of the train routes in all the stations and wondered whether tourists would be miffed if they noticed the big gap or that there was no way of getting into the Donegal-Leitrim-Sligo area. That may be another day's work. I call Fáilte Ireland to make a final summary on the points raised.
Mr. Quinn
As a native of Donegal now living in north County Dublin, I can certainly relate to the points made by Deputies Glennon and McGinley. Deputy Glennon spoke of the linkages between north County Dublin and the Boyne Valley. As Mr. Connolly said earlier, these regions are administrative districts and from a marketing perspective may have little or no relevance. It is more a matter of inter-regional connectivity. The initiative launched a few weeks ago between Shannon, the west and the north west is very welcome. It took a long time to get such co-operation and we need more of it. Picking up a point made earlier about the plethora of agencies with insufficient linkages, we need more linkages and co-operation and not necessarily fewer entities. This industry is very fragmented and dispersed around the country. Fantastic energy and innovation exists on the ground, into which we need to tap.
The all-island dimension has been very positive. In the new session the committee will meet representatives of Tourism Ireland, who will reiterate this point. Apart from that, our relationship with the Northern Ireland Tourism Board is very productive. Earlier this week we were in the North to launch a bid for a cross-Border world rally event to take place in the north west. We work very closely on enterprise, development and training. We all face the same issues. We can achieve much more coherent solutions by working together productively, which has been the experience to date.
The point made about events is correct. I am familiar with what Melbourne and other locations have done. We have done quite well in a number of areas. Golf and the Ryder Cup were mentioned. Speaking from our perspective and that of others like us, the trick is not to be complacent about the success of events like the Ryder Cup. We need to become more proactive. We need to make more of the many large events that take place in this country by increasing the length of stay. For example, if somebody comes for an international rugby match in Dublin we need to broaden the appeal with another event timed to be packaged with it.
Certainly the north west faces challenges in the need to re-adapt to the traditional Northern Ireland market, which is leaking out through new access routes from Belfast and Derry. I know that north west tourism is tackling that challenge with some success.
A broad issue of value for money and eating out was raised. Our annual visitor attitudes survey finds continuing high levels of satisfaction with the tourism product. We have not found any appreciable deterioration in value for money perceptions. When we drill down on the value for money issue we find our tourists have no issue with what we might call tourism-related costs. Thankfully, owing to Ryanair and the new strategy in Aer Lingus, the cost of getting to this country is as competitive as getting anywhere. Taxis do not represent an issue when we benchmark against others. The cost of accommodation is seen to represent good value for money. They cover the cost of getting here, getting around and sleeping here.
The high cost of living here is a spin-off from having a successful economy and impacts on the cost of eating and drinking out. This is not to say that the industry has failed to respond. We have worked with the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation with their value menu initiative which we supported wholeheartedly, not least because this was a sector of the industry doing something off its own bat. The initiative, which is in its early days, deserves support. As was noted, it is recognised that tourism is a service industry that is highly dependent on labour. It is not like manufacturing where productivity can be boosted by the introduction of machinery. Labour in Ireland is very expensive and it is easy to succumb to the temptation to operate with fewer staff. However, this downgrades the product and quality suffers as a result. The strategy must be to offer quality at a competitive price. The industry has latched on to this requirement, as a glance at the offers available on the back pages of The Irish Times or inside pages of the Irish Independent would demonstrate.
It is too early to state what has been the benefit to Cork of its status as European city of culture. From the perspective of the south west, the city is performing quite well with Killarney performing less well. I have no doubt the European city of culture designation has had some impact. Earlier this year, we hosted representatives of about 40 aerial media outlets from around Europe and further afield. They wrote about Cork when they returned home, which had a positive impact. This approach helps put destinations such as Cork firmly on the map.
Mr. Connolly will address some of the broader issues arising from long haul air travel, the Pacific rim, Japan and bilateral and transatlantic arrangements.
Deputy Glennon is correct on the issue of direct access. Although many Japanese people visit Europe, Ireland has not realised the potential of this market because Japanese tourists do not wish to travel further west in Europe before returning to their original destinations. The reason is that such travel would waste a day of an average trip of seven or eight days. Direct access is, therefore, important as it would allow Japanese visitors to do a loop in Europe without having to return to their original destination. I do not know where Japan is on the list of Aer Lingus priorities or what the position is with regard to the main airport in Tokyo but long-term, long haul policies are important. It is preferable to develop more routes with the accent on incoming rather than outgoing traffic. In recent years, we have had balance in this.
It will be some time before the issue of bilateral arrangements and north Atlantic routes is resolved because EU-US negotiations have stalled on the matter in the context of the wider trade dimension. I assume development with regard to Shannon Airport will be phased in terms of the spatial spread. Obviously, Tourism Ireland will develop strategies to ensure there is a balance of traffic between Shannon and Dublin airports. The majority of coach operators and so forth would still prefer to use Shannon Airport because of the ease of using its facilities and the link to the United States. I envisage that any expansion of routes, probably on a phased basis, will lift all boats equally.
Mr. Quinn
I overlooked two or three issues raised by members, including whether we are losing the warm Irish welcome, the scarcity of Irish people working front of house and the smoking ban. We tracked the smoking ban as part of our continuous barometer of incoming tourists. Before the introduction of the ban, we asked tourists whether it would impact on their decision to visit Ireland. We also tracked the issue following the ban's implementation and found no appreciable change in our finding that the ban was not an issue for the vast majority of respondents. This result may come as a surprise in some sectors of the industry, particularly the vintners.
We have not received any negative feedback about a scarcity of Irish people in the industry. This is a developed, sophisticated economy and people expect Ireland, particularly Dublin, to be more cosmopolitan. To date, we have not received any negative feedback on what one might call non-Irish or international staff working in the industry. We will obviously monitor this very closely.
On the question of a decline in the warm welcome we extend to visitors, our quite extensive visitor attitudes survey does not indicate such a decline. The friendliness and warm welcome are still very much in evidence. We, as Irish people, are always the first to believe they no longer feature but the contrary still comes across loud and clear from international tourists.
I sincerely thank Mr. Quinn and Mr. Connolly, who are always welcome. They dealt with every issue that arose. I appreciate the large attendance today, although everybody believes we are doing something else, such as going on holidays. It has been a good session in which we have produced seven reports. I thank the clerk and the support staff, including the front-of-House staff and those who work behind the scenes. We value the ongoing work they do from one end of the year to the other.
The joint committee adjourned at 3.42 p.m. sine die.