Notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders and by agreement of the House, it is proposed that this item will not conclude this evening but will continue as long as speakers are offering. It will last until not later than 8 p.m. and will be continued during Government time at an early stage after Easter when the vote will take place. I have discussed this with the leader of the Opposition and he is agreeable to it.
Tourism Industry: Motion.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
Is that agreed? Agreed.
There is a correction to the text of the amendment owing to a misprint. The words "That Seanad Éireann" are superfluous and the text of the amendment should commence with the word "notes".
I move:
That Seanad Éireann calls on the Minister for Tourism and Trade to
—take action to promote even growth in tourist numbers and income in the regions;
—ensure that available finances and resources are no longer employed to further exacerbate regional imbalance;
—develop marketing strategies which place more emphasis on quality and income generation than on numbers;
—adopt policies which ensure fair play for all sectors in tourism;
—initiate and support integrated development at local level which will achieve sustained growth in tourism income;
—address the lack of co-ordination of State and other grant-aided agencies involved in tourism;
and urges the setting up of a National Co-ordinating Manpower Development Plan for training in the area of services to tourism.
This motion seeks to encourage the Minister to spread the tourism numbers more evenly throughout the regions and ensure that the benefits of tourism are spread throughout the country in order to promote economic prosperity arising from tourism development.
Tourism development has had a dramatic impact on economic development and employment in the last number of years. Anybody who examines the figures which show increased revenue from tourism and increased numbers employed in the tourism area must admit that the drive to increase tourism, which started a few years ago, has been very successful.
There is, as some Members will be aware, a continuing concern that the volume of tourists visiting Ireland are concentrated to a greater degree in the eastern regions — and the east coast in particular — mainly because of the success of attracting continental visitors to Dublin. It has weighted the balance in favour of the eastern regions to the disadvantage of the west. This has been exacerbated to some extent by the controversy relating to the Shannon stopover.
The feeling was that the change in the transatlantic stopover in Shannon would have a serious and adverse impact on tourist numbers, especially from the North American market, coming into the mid-west region. Where these numbers are divided between Dublin and the west, it is felt that the traffic will never work its way back to the western regions, and the mid-west region in particular. The efforts made to promote business through Shannon and to develop new services, as well as efforts to develop a new spirit of enthusiasm in the regions of the west, and the mid-west in particular, has to some extent counteracted that trend. While the numbers of passengers going through the airport and revenue figures from the region are fairly good, people involved in business believe that the western regions are not getting the volume of traffic and business they should. This is having an adverse impact on the people involved in the tourism business.
The introduction of some initiatives would be advantageous to the western areas. There has been a fairly substantial increase in the numbers of people visiting Ireland because of its attraction in the areas of heritage and related matters. There is still a sizeable number of heritage areas which are under-developed and unexploited. This must be done in a reasonable and balanced way and in any development of these facilities care should be taken to protect their valuable heritage. However, some investments in key areas would open up the possibility of attracting international business to counteract the current imbalance.
There is no question that there is an imbalance between the east and west coasts. It is not possible to tell tourists where they go because they themselves will decide where they want to visit. However, they will make their decision on the basis of information available. That is why we have embodied the question of marketing in this motion. It is necessary to fund extensive and intensive marketing campaigns to attract more people, especially during the off-peak period.
I can give an example of an area in the west where a small investment could have a dramatic impact on the number of visitors going to a particular location. For instance, Scattery Island on the Shannon is the site of a Viking settlement with the round towers of seven churches. It is comparable to Clonmacnoise or Glendalough. However, the absence of a basic landing facility at the island means that it is not possible to develop that huge resource. The development plans of SFADCo and local tourism development associations and the interest of local people in promoting an attractive heritage site like Scattery Island have, to a large extent, been negatived because of the absence of a landing facility there which could be provided for £1,000 to £3,000.
In order to get the numbers to visit these areas one needs substantial investment in infrastructure which has not been available up to now. While there has been a major improvement in conditions and investment in roads and infrastructure generally, there is further necessity, especially in the isolated western areas which are the most attractive areas in the country, for investment which would provide amenities in areas hitherto under-developed. One could bring up to 300,000 people to Scattery Island if there was a landing facility there. There were about 2,000 visitors there last year according to the Commissioners of Public Works. The development of Mullaghmore and the Burren has been a tale of horrific proportions. The relevant Department should press ahead with its plans for that area.
I refer to these areas to draw attention to the need for investment in infrastructure which would open up rural areas, such as the Céide Fields in County Mayo. I compliment the Office of Public Works for the work it has done in the preservation and development of our heritage areas and for the identification and enhancement of the Killarney and Glenveagh national parks. Such efforts should be expedited and the necessary funding provided.
Any analysis of the figures, whether of numbers employed, revenue accruing or visitor numbers, shows that the east coast is forging ahead. Fianna Fáil has no problem with that. The east coast can take even more tourists and it is possible there will be greater investment in the east coast as the benefits accrue from the increased numbers. This can result in a lot of private investment, as has been the case with the Malahide marina and boatyard. We welcome and support such development.
The State's maritime resources have not been developed to the point where we could take a sizeable slice of the international maritime business. Government support is needed for the events that would attract leisure boats. While on a recent parliamentary delegation to Norway I witnessed the extent of the development of its maritime resources, despite its being frozen for nine months of the year.
There is great opportunity for maritime developments on the west coast and co-operation between various locations there. I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, is present because he is aware of the impact the maritime leisure business has had in Kinsale and can have in Cork harbour. The Government should pay more attention to attracting the international maritime business we have not been able to attract to date. We have the locations; all that is required is a small amount of investment and work.
The representatives of the hotel industry are concerned at the fall-off in bookings for this season. There is a fear that because of the continuing uncertainty with regard to Northern Ireland the enthusiasm evident during the peace process is waning. The uncertainty with regard to the peace process leads to a fear that the expected benefits will not materialise. Many of the larger investors who have invested heavily in places like Dromoland Castle are apprehensive about the future and the decline in numbers in the west. They want the Government to identify areas where that trend might be reversed and to work to spread the numbers of visitors more evenly.
More Government funding is needed. We appreciate the amount of work that has been done through the Structural Funds which has been beneficial in developing all weather facilities in the resorts. The resorts have always been the backbone of Irish tourism, yet successive Governments allowed them to run down. Hotels and guesthouses, for example, went out of business because investment such as that being made under the operational programme was not made. This investment must be accelerated. Concessions have to be made on licensing laws and other matters which would assist the resort areas to continue to be a dominant force in Irish tourism. I compliment the Government on the introduction of the designated resorts scheme which has proved worthwhile. It has been beneficial in Ballybunion, Lahinch and Kilkee, and I am sure Senator Fitzgerald will tell us about Dingle.
More Government funds and Structural Funds must be put into tourism. We must examine the balance of the figures between the east and west coasts. We must have a co-ordinated approach to marketing the various areas of the country. In the light of the success of the tourism industry the Government should give it a further boost so it can continue to play a dominant role in the economic life of the country.
I second the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the House. Coming from Cork, he is my neighbour in the south west. Cork Kerry Tourism works well.
Tourism will become more important to the economy over the next few years. It will also become more competitive. Other countries have their attractions. Fortunately, the shoal of dolphins has come back to Ballydavid, County Kerry, this year and I can assure everybody we will have another fine summer. Hopefully, we will have a tourism boom. In the past the bad weather has greatly affected tourism and if we were fortunate to have a fine summer it would make a huge difference.
We have to be aware of tourism in other countries and the package tours available. I have taken them myself — it is nice to go on holiday now and then and the package tours are easy and cheap. We do not seem to have the same facility to sell the type of holidays in Ireland that are sold to us by other countries at a cheap rate. I do not know how much a German would pay for a week in Ireland, but he could get a holiday in sunny spots like Greece or the Canary Islands for about £300 per person per week. That includes flight, accommodation and, in many cases, full board. There is no hope that we could offer the same facilities at that price.
There are a number of actions we should take as regards tourism. The most popular places are out of the way spots on the west coast, but the roads going to most of them are diabolical. Not only that, but they are crowded with tour buses and cars during the summer. I appeal to the Minister to use his good offices for these places, not just Dingle but resorts all over the west. I am worried about the west and south coasts; I do not suggest that the east has enough, but it is doing all right while we are not doing well. We need more money spent on us because people are leaving the land — the fact that more milk quotas are being made available shows that. This means people are leaving the west coast to come to Dublin, which is a pity because opportunities exist for us.
Bodies like the IDA and Údarás na Gaeltachta have not helped set up small craft industries. Everywhere one goes in Egypt, for instance, one sees people carving camels with a penknife. A tourist will buy one as souvenir to bring home, which puts more money into the economy. I do not see why we have not bombarded tourists with our souvenirs, or promoted Irish nights out.
If I may be critical, Irish tourism bodies have not targeted first, second and third generation Irish-Americans and Irish-Canadians. When I visited Canada recently I was amazed at the number of people who told me they were Irish on the basis that their grandfather came from Ireland and who spoke like me, with a broad Kerry accent. A man introduced himself to me as Mr. Dinny Connor from Castlemaine. I asked if he was long in Canada and he told me he was born there — his father had come into Montreal on the coffin ship, the Jenny Johnson. I asked him if he had ever gone back, but he said we had lost track of the Irish Canadians and had no interest in them. People from the Minister's party and Fine Gael heard these conversations also. We were not in Canada to promote tourism, but nonetheless I have a pocketful of requests for information on accommodation, hotels and golf.
We are not properly promoting Irish golf facilities in Canada. All through the winter Canadians cannot play golf because the country is covered in snow, and that is the time of the year they want to come to Ireland. When we were in Montreal I went to a huge golf exhibition which also promoted accommodation. There were 150 tourism stands from every part of the world, including all over Europe, but the only mention of Ireland was in a brochure for Fitzpatrick Hotels. The last time we discussed tourism in this House the then Minister said Bord Fáilte was going to move into Canada. It must do so quickly and latch onto the Irish Canadians and Irish Quebecquois, who want to come here to spend their money. I am critical because Ireland is not being sold properly.
I am sorry I cannot speak for an hour because I have not covered half the points on the motion.
Knowing the Senator, he will undoubtedly find another opportunity.
We will have a chance another day. I regret that the Government side has decided to move an amendment to the motion, because there is nothing between us on this issue and we were not going to be too critical.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes the exceptional performance of the tourism sector in 1995 in terms of foreign revenue earnings and visitor numbers and the substantial growth in tourism in all sub-regions of the country in recent years; and calls on the Minister for Tourism and Trade to continue to pursue, in association with the industry, a range of policy measures in the product development, marketing and training areas designed to assist in the achievement of the targets set for sustainable growth in the industry under the EU Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-1999."
I am glad of the opportunity to contribute to the debate and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, to the House. He has already shown his interest in tourism promotion and both he and his senior Minister have shown by their actions in the last few months their commitment to ensuring that the tourism industry can be promoted effectively. The re-focusing and re-organising of Bord Fáilte has been important in that regard and I accept Senator Fitzgerald's point that the overseas promotion of the Irish tourism product has left much to be desired over the years. We have also failed to tap into the potential of our ethnic market in many countries.
Senator Daly spoke about the current severe imbalance in tourism within Ireland, which I will deal with shortly. The importance of tourism to Ireland cannot be overstated and in particular it is crucial to the economy of the west. My figures may be slightly out of date but they are fine for comparison purposes. They show that we had 4.2 million visitors and that the growth in national tourism has been about 17 per cent. Some regions gained and some lost; they did not stay static. Senator Daly, who comes from the same constituency as me, referred to the damage done to tourism development in the west by the flying over of Shannon. The imbalance can be seen in the figures provided by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, which show that revenue on the east coast increased by 33 per cent; in the south-east, it increased by 25 per cent; in the south-west, it dropped by 4 per cent; in the mid-west, it dropped by 1 per cent; while in the west, there was a marginal increase of 2 per cent. These figures speak for themselves.
There is a lesson there.
In the period between 1989 and 1994, tourism revenue grew by 86 per cent in the east but by only 43 per cent in the west. Until 1989, the west had a larger share of tourism revenue. The greatest imbalance occurred in 1993 and 1994.
Senator Daly stated that tourists cannot be told where to go. If tourists travelling from the UK are faced with a situation where it will cost them an extra £100 to fly to Shannon rather than Dublin, the choice is already made for them. The difference in the cost of access to Dublin to that of the west has contributed to creating the imbalance to which I referred. There is also a situation where American tourists visiting Ireland travel through London because it is more attractive and cost effective to fly from America to London to Dublin than it is to travel directly to Ireland. The role of Aer Lingus and Bord Fáilte must be questioned in this regard.
I am prepared to wait for the reorganisation of Bord Fáilte to see if the imbalance can be rectified. The fact is that Bord Fáilte contributed, in no uncertain way, to creating the imbalance being experienced by the west at present. Therefore, Bord Fáilte's role must be seriously examined. Since 1989 Aer Lingus has played a disgraceful role in using every gimmick at its disposal to encourage tourists to enter Ireland through Dublin rather than Shannon. The performance of Bord Fáilte and the regional tourism organisations, including Shannon Development, must be measured during the current tourist season. Perhaps the Minister of State will indicate the precise role of Shannon development in overseas promotion of the Irish tourism industry.
Senator Daly made the point that this issue does not involve taking tourist revenue from the east and returning it to the west. It is a case of redistributing the existing cake, it is a question of ensuring that resources are put in place to redress the imbalance.
I have one complaint with the Fianna Fáil motion before the House which refers to developing marketing strategies which place more emphasis on quality and income generation than on numbers. That is the expression of an anti-backpacker sentiment which is gaining ground with certain elements in the tourism industry. Tourists who visit Ireland on backpacking holidays may become successful business people in the future and may return to this country driving a Mercedes Benz. For that reason I reject the shabby attitude adopted by the industry which is contained in the motion before us.
It was stated that there is a surplus of accommodation in the west and that a reluctance exists to grant aid any further accommodation there. This is a representation of a failure by Bord Fáilte and Shannon Development to fill existing accommodation in the west. Tourism is the growth market of the future on a world scale. Ireland and Europe are not holding their market shares in this regard. At present the areas of growth in world tourism are the United States, Central America and the Far East. I support the Senator Fitzgerald's point that the proportion of the ethnic market is declining. The average length of people's stay in Ireland is also in decline.
Earlier contributors referred to the question of investment in the tourism product. Between 1989 and 1993, 60 per cent of investment in the tourism product went to the west while 40 per cent went to the east. However, numbers of hotel bedrooms in Dublin have increased by 46 per cent during that time. There has been no reluctance on the part of the west to invest in the tourism product.
There are economic reasons for the imbalance. There is the cost of access and the failure of the promotional agencies. As Senator Fitzgerald stated, I would like more time to be devoted to this issue. I hope the points I made will find an echo with the Minister of State, the Minister and the Department.
I thank the Senators for putting down this motion as it gives me an opportunity to address certain issues that have been raised in various fora in recent times about the growth of tourism throughout the country. Some concerns have been expressed that in certain regions, particularly the west and south-west, the general level of growth in tourism numbers and revenue in recent years, and in 1995 in particular, has not been experienced on the ground. Before addressing those issues in detail, however, it is important to put tourism performance in context and relate it to national tourism policy and Government targets for the sector.
The operational programme for tourism sets out the Government's targets for the tourism industry for the period 1994 to 1999. These are to achieve foreign exchange earnings of £2.25 billion per annum by 1999; to create the equivalent of up to 35,000 additional jobs in the economy; to concentrate an increasing proportion of growth in the shoulder and off-peak periods, that is, outside the July/August period and to improve the quality of service in the Irish tourism product by the provision of high quality training programmes. The strategy to achieve these targets will focus on a large expansion in marketing activities, further product development to meet specific market deficiencies, major improvements in the conference, angling and cultural tourism products and an expansion in the range and scale of training to cater for anticipated employment growth.
Overall, the programme envisages total investment of £652 million during its lifetime — £369 million of this will come from the EU with the public and private sectors contributing £84 million and £199 million, respectively. Programmes under the aegis of other Departments, such as the operational programme for agriculture, rural development and forestry, the second Leader Programme and the operational programme for local urban and rural development will also assist smaller tourism projects as part of their primary non-tourism objectives. In addition, tourism projects in the Border counties may also qualify for assistance from the International Fund for Ireland, the EU INTERREG Programme or the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.
The targets I have outlined are national targets, but the operational programme for tourism also contains an indicative breakdown of expenditure on a regional basis in order to achieve a balanced distribution throughout the country. It is also worth noting, and is recognised in the programme, that tourism is a powerful instrument of regional policy, assisting in raising incomes and providing jobs in the country's more remote and under-developed regions. I accept Senator Fitzgerald's point in this regard and will convey his concerns about roads to the relevant Minister. Apart from purely economic considerations, tourism has the important "added value" effect of energising and raising the morale of communities in those regions, many of whom were adversely affected by emigration and depopulation. Tourism also acts naturally as an instrument of regional balance in Ireland. Some of the major tourist destinations, outside Dublin, are located in the country's less developed regions.
Apart from the grant aiding programmes I have already outlined, tourism development also benefits from tax incentives such as the business expansion scheme and the pilot tax relief scheme for certain resort areas. Subsidised, fixed interest loans are available through the access to finance scheme, launched last September by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, and a similar scheme confined to the Border counties introduced recently under the Peace and Reconciliation Fund. Some of the programmes and schemes I mentioned are, by their nature, confined to specific regions. The overall tourism support framework could be seen, therefore, to provide a positive bias in favour of regional development.
The targets we have set out for the tourism industry are ambitious but realistic and tourism performance over the past two years indicates that we are well on course towards achieving them. Foreign earnings from tourism in Ireland in 1994 grew by 9.5 per cent from £1.367 billion in 1993 to almost £1.5 billion. Bord Fáilte's estimates for 1995 suggest that revenue last year was up on 1994 by as much as 18 per cent. This rate of growth compares very favourably with an average European growth in tourism revenues of 2.3 per cent, making Ireland the top performing European destination in 1995.
Overall visitor numbers in 1995 reached a record high of 4,256,000. We experienced particularly strong growth in visitor numbers from Britain. This figure was up by 13 per cent. Bord Fáilte estimates suggest that holiday, business and conference visitors were the fastest growing segments, which is particularly encouraging as these tend to be the higher spending visitors. Senator Howard made a valid point when he said that the backpacker of today is the big spender of tomorrow. These figures do not include domestic tourism earnings which in 1994 were estimated at £680 million. The domestic market is of course particularly significant in the context of regional tourism development.
The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation — ITIC — announced the findings of a preliminary study in December 1995 covering the period 1989-94, based on CSO and Bord Fáilte figures, which showed that in 1994 the level of growth in expenditure by overseas tourists in Dublin and the south-east region was higher than elsewhere in the country. They are now undertaking a detailed analysis of the situation which will take account of a number of issues such as changes in composition of Ireland's visitors by nationality or holiday types, increase in share of arrivals by air, the shortening average length of stay, the decline in ethnic links, which is the point raised by Senator Fitzgerald regarding the exploitation of the Canadian market of people of Irish origin, the extent, if any that pre-visit promotion and/or distribution of product influence regional distribution of demand within the country and any problems of capacity and/or access within areas of the western regions which might frustrate potential demand. Senator Daly also mentioned that point regarding the problem of access. I look forward to the findings of the final report which I understand will be available shortly.
In considering the question of the regional spread of the growth in tourism the most important point I want to emphasise at the outset is that tourism revenue in all regions of the country grew at rates above international and European averages over the period 1989 to 1994. This was a key conclusion of the recent ITIC preliminary study to which I have referred but it was overshadowed by other elements, in particular the question of varying levels of growth within the regions, which was the reason for the motion here tonight. No official figures are yet available on regional distribution for 1995. Bord Fáilte has advised me, however, that while Dublin has benefited from continued growth in the short break holiday market, particularly from the UK, preliminary indications are that all regions are again benefiting from overall growth this year. Official estimates will not be available for some weeks yet.
The tourist revenue figures for 1994 show a very even distribution of revenue by overseas visitors in the eastern and western regions and, indeed, taking total tourism revenue for the year, the western regions as a whole fared better, with 54 per cent of the total spend. One of the benefits of our vibrant and expanding tourism sector over the last number of years has been the regional dispersal of its economic benefits. However the spread of tourism throughout the country depends heavily on the origion and requirements of overseas visitors, the perceived attractiveness of the different regions in terms of quality, the range of what they have to offer and the marketing efforts of individual operators. It is basically up to the regions to attract the overseas or domestic tourist who decides to holiday in Ireland.
It is true that Dublin has enjoyed significant growth in recent times, partly because of the increased demand for city breaks and shorter stays, which has become a holiday trend internationally. Competitively priced and regular access to Dublin has also played a part but this can operate to the benefit of other regions as well. A point worth noting, for example, is that 40 per cent of all bookings made in the Dublin Tourism Centre are for accommodation and activities in the other regions. This means that the overall growth in visitors to Dublin does not just benefit the Dublin region but the country as a whole.
Any differential growth in the Dublin and eastern regions and other regions is not necessarily a function of development incentives but can also be attributed to many other factors, including the special appeal of Dublin as a capital city and its proximity to eastern seaports. A positive feature of the EU Operational Programme for Tourism 1989-93 was the extent to which it achieved a good regional spread of investment and helped to build the tourism industry across all regions. Senator Howard referred to that. The spread of investment extended to the west as well as Dublin. Well over half the grants under the programme related to projects in western regions. This investment in infrastructure is expected to continue under the current operational programme which covers the period 1994 to 1999. However, ultimately the spread of expenditure will depend on the ability of the public and private sectors within each region to bring forward suitable quality proposals for co-funding.
Some progress has been made in exploiting opportunities for expanding access to Ireland and the regions generally with an increasing number of European tour operators undertaking direct charter services into airports outside Dublin, including Cork, Kerry, Shannon and Knock. Nearly 180,000 seats are now provided annually on inbound charter services with very competitive prices from mainland Europe. Some 80 per cent of these go to airports other than Dublin. The decision of tour operators from Germany to commence services to Knock for the first time in 1996 is a further positive development.
Increased competition on the Lon-don-Shannon route has been facilitated by the commencement of services on that route by AB Shannon since December 1995. In addition, Aer Rianta has announced that the new carrier development at Cork and Shannon will be further facilitated by a package of landing charge rebates which exceed the incentives available at Dublin. Combined passenger movements at all regional airports in 1995 were 20 per cent higher than in 1994, reaching over 350,000, and Cork and Shannon airports reported terminal traffic increases of 21 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
The issue of appropriate marketing strategies has been raised. I should first point out that the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99 provides for total programme related spending on marketing of almost £125 million over the period 1994 to 1999, with some £51 million of this funding coming from the EU. The programme makes the point that as it was planned to invest more resources in marketing Irish tourism relative to the Tourism Operational Programme 1989-93, it was considered necessary to identify specific marketing schemes which would focus on the key objectives of the programme, including the achievement of foreign exchange earnings of £2.25 billion in 1999. I might add, in passing, that unlike the first tourism operational programme, the current programme does not contain targets in relation to the numbers of visitors, reflecting a shift in emphasis from numbers to revenue yield which I am sure will be welcomed. Senator Howard made that perfectly clear but many people in the industry are of the opinion there is a need for the shift of emphasis. We all accept that if there is more to spend it is to the benefit of the economy.
The five themes which underpin the marketing sub-programme of the operational programme are improving seasonality, where priority is given in the maximum support rates available under the operational programme for marketing projects which attract visitors in the shoulder and off-peak periods, expanding sea and air access, developing new markets, developing product and niche markets, and attracting more high yield business. These themes have guided the work of the Independent Management Board for Marketing which, up to 31 December 1995, had approved over £12 million in marketing grants under the operational programme.
A wide variety of projects have been supported, ranging from brochure production to direct campaigns and mainstream consumer advertising. Tourism enterprises of every type have been assisted, including carriers, tour operators, marketing co-operatives, individual suppliers and relevant public bodies. I understand that in 1996 the marketing board, having reviewed its activities to date, will be seeking to focus more support towards projects which are strategic in direction as opposed to the more tactical nature of previous years.
The major consumer advertising campaigns for Irish tourism in 1996 will, as in 1995, be undertaken under the aegis of the industry-led Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative, which is a marketing partnership involving Bord Fáilte, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the tourism industry, North and South. Here, I want to get back to the point raised by both Senator Fitzgerald and Senator Howard regarding the budget. A budget of £6.5 million will be available to the OTMI this year, comprising £1 million from the industry, £500,000 sourced from Northern Ireland, £1 million from the Exchequer and a total of £4 million from the marketing sub-programme of the Operational Programme for Tourism. I feel that a budget of £6.5 million is quite a generous one. Despite Senator Fitzgerald's claims that there should be more outlets on the continent of Europe, I feel that for a country of our size the sum of £6.5 million is a substantial amount of money to be spending on promotion.
Television and press campaigns which promote holidays to the island of Ireland are now being run by the OTMI in our four main markets — the US, Britain, Germany and France. The content and timing of OTMI advertising is carefully selected so that it makes the maximum impact on the target audience for Irish tourism, which is usually in the mid to high income categories. OTMI campaigns feature a variety of response mechanisms, such as freephone numbers, coupons or minitel which have been carefully selected for their appropriateness to the target market in each country. Typically, respondents will receive a holiday kit which includes specially produced OTMI brochures and the Bord Fáilte and NITB market books. The aim is to provide the potential customer with the impetus to holiday in Ireland and the method of doing so in the easiest manner.
The renewed mandate for Bord Fáilte, in line with the Arthur D. Little consultancy review, has been confirmed as international marketing and the organisation is refocussing its resources on this key task while divesting itself of other non-core functions. Senators may remember that in the past matters, such as the Tidy Towns competition, which were not related directly to tourism were undertaken by Bord Fáilte. This is no longer the case. Bord Fáilte has now been told to concentrate on marketing. The new structure reflects a concentration on three core priorities — selling and promoting Ireland overseas, helping the less mature elements of the industry to develop its marketing and product development capabilities, and providing information for enhanced decision making by marketers, investors and managers in the industry as well as Government.
A new mission statement has been agreed for Bord Fáilte and a new organisational structure is being finalised. An international marketing director with a proven track record in private industry now heads up the international marketing division and a new general manager for Europe has been appointed. The board is currently recruiting a small number of marketing executives and graduates to work in the development of overseas markets.
For the longer term, the work which is currently ongoing in Bord Fáilte on the development of the destination brand for Irish tourism will help to position Ireland as a unique high quality destination. Consumer research in tourism strongly indicates that de facto destination brands already exist in the minds of most travellers for many international destinations, including Ireland. The challenge in developing and managing a brand is to move such images in the direction of firmly establishing a brand proposition which motivates the traveller as well as being distinctive and memorable compared to its competitors.
But the development and promotion of a new brand for Irish tourism will only be possible if it gets widespread support from the industry. By support, I mean not only inputting its views and ideas but also contributing financially to the project. Developing a new brand only makes sense if tangible economic benefits can be seen to flow from the process.
Overall, I am satisfied that the marketing strategies for Irish tourism currently being implemented have contributed to the most successful period ever for Irish tourism, but marketing strategies must continually evolve in response to market demands. Above all, they must seek to achieve the maximum co-ordination between all potential partners who have an interest in marketing Ireland as a destination.
A Chathaoirligh, how much time do I have left at my disposal?
You will have gone slightly over time.
The motion deserves the fullest possible response. I apologise for running over time but tourism is of great importance to the country. We are talking of creating 35,000 jobs in a period of five years and we cannot take that lightly.
The Minister is forgiven.
I thank the Senator.
I mentioned earlier the importance of the domestic tourism market. One of the significant achievements of the last Tourism Council — which is made up of representatives of the industry, the State tourism agencies and Government Departments under the chairmanship of Minister Kenny — was its endorsement of the comprehensive report Domestic Tourism Marketing which was commissioned by the marketing sub-committee at my specific request. This report outlined the value of domestic tourism in economic terms, the increased level of competition, especially in the short break sector, and the marketing opportunities which are emerging. It specifically recommended that a new and reorganised approach to support growth in the domestic market was opportune and put forward a number of suggestions for new marketing initiatives. Following from this, I am pleased to say that I secured Government agreement earlier this year to the allocation of £500,000 towards the cost of developing a new initiative to encourage greater marketing by the industry of home holidays, particularly in the off-peak and shoulder season. This initiative will only succeed, however, if it has the co-operation and involvement, both financially and actively, of the tourism industry right across the board.
I now turn to the question of co-ordination of State and other grant aiding agencies involved in tourism. Arising from concerns about possible inconsistency and duplication in tourism development efforts, the product development sub-committee of the last Tourism Council prepared a report on co-ordination in tourism in June 1994. Essentially, this report recommended that the Operational Programme for Tourism should be seen as the starting point for all tourism related initiatives and that the Minister and the Department of Tourism and Trade are the final arbiter of tourism policy. Other agencies and measures that assist tourism projects as part of their primary non-tourism objectives should complement rather than act in conflict with the incentives offered under the Tourism Operational Programme. The report made a number of specific recommendations to this end.
The Department of Tourism and Trade subsequently engaged in discussions with other relevant Departments with a view to the implementation of the report's recommendations. I am happy to say that a good deal of progress was made and the objectives of the exercise were largely realised, particularly in relation to Leader, the county enterprise fund and the agritourism scheme. Because of the Department of Tourism and Trade's implementing role, difficulties over coordination are not expected to arise in relation to the International Fund for Ireland and the EU INTERREG.
I am satisfied that the mechanisms now put in place will go a long way towards eliminating the potential for duplication or conflict in tourism development. The Department of Tourism and Trade will nevertheless continue to monitor the situation.
The Department of Tourism and Trade and Bord Fáilte have prepared national marketing and development strategies. Development plans have been drawn up for each of the regions by the six regional tourism organisations and Shannon Development. The draft national strategy guided the evolution of the regional plans and, in turn, the regional strengths and priorities influenced the thrust of national strategy. With the establishment of county tourism committees in 1994 has come the opportunity and responsibility to develop county action plans for tourism which can be integrated into the plans of the county enterprise boards and regional tourism organisations.
The regional tourism organisations and SFADCo play an important role in encouraging grant applications under the Operational Programme for Tourism within their regions. They also have a direct input into the evaluation of each individual development proposal from their area seeking European Regional Development Fund assistance. This gives the regional bodies, who are responsible for tourism promotion in their areas, the opportunity to co-ordinate development proposals with regional marketing strategy at an early stage in both the design and evaluation of expenditure proposals.
It is, of course, important that efforts to secure the optimum level of co-ordination between programmes and Government Departments and agencies are mirrored within the industry itself. To this end, and in line with Government policy, a number of product specific marketing groups have been set up. Nineteen such groups are now in existence and the tourism products covered include golf, angling, cruising, equestrianism, cycling, walking, language learning, heritage, culture and rural tourism. By marketing on a group basis the sector concerned can help to maintain high standards and make the best possible use of European Regional Development Fund marketing assistance with a view to achieving commercial sustainability during the lifetime of the present Operational Programme for Tourism. By focusing on a specific product rather than on a geographical basis, the group can help to achieve a good regional spend of tourism revenue.
The programme, however, contains a complementary provision where cooperative marketing support will also be available to encourage individual suppliers of different tourism products in a region to co-operate in developing attractive packages of visitor facilities in their areas.
Manpower Policy is an issue which is of vital importance to the future of Irish tourism. By the end of the century we expect that five million people will visit us each year. All of these tourists want and must be provided with an efficient and friendly service which they will remember and associate with their visit.
Over the last two years tourism training has received an unprecedented amount of attention and study. As Minister of State at the Department of Tourism and Trade, I am conscious of the need to boost human capital by enhancing education and skill levels in the industry and I am determined that the focus on training and development which has now been recognised as essential will continue. Training has for too long been the Cinderella of the tourism industry and indeed other sectors in our economy.
This is acknowledged in the Operational Programme for Tourism where training is one of the four main sub programmes. A total of £110 million will be invested in tourism training between 1994 and 1999 and over 72,000 people will be trained. This almost doubles the number trained under the last operational programme.
In keeping with overall national tourism policy, CERT's role and function will be to provide training for new entrants and the existing workforce in tourism to assist in the provision of a higher quality tourism product leading to the creation and enhancement of employment.
The training policies and strategies envisaged in the operational programme are derived primarily from the anticipation of market led changes and demand in the overall tourism product and its component parts. Training programmes are adapted as required by changes in the tourism product while the shorter term interventions have an in built flexibility to meet any more immediate training needs that may arise during the course of the operational programme.
Training programmes run by CERT are matched to the skill needs of tourism, as identified by research and liaison with the tourism industry at sectoral, regional and individual establishment level. I have no doubt that CERT's training and development initiatives will assist in the promotion and facilitation of a quality culture in tourism. European language training will continue to be an integral part of the overall training strategy of CERT.
Government strategy will continue to place great emphasis on the close matching of trainee output with employment opportunities over the 1994-99 period and trainee output will be increased on a phased basis during this period. This close matching of supply and demand is ensured by a variety of measures which include research on the current and future demand of tourism for skilled staff, an ongoing review of whether the output of training programmes meets that demand as well as the monitoring of job placement rates for graduates. The annual average throughput of trainees over the programme period will be close to 12,000 people.
Initiatives will be undertaken which will include training for new product areas, localised training, increased emphasis on management level training, distance learning and an extension of the business start up programmes. Training programmes for the non-traditional sectors are being introduced to provide more tailor made and relevant training. This would include: heritage-cultural and interpretative centres; rural tourism; air and sea carriers; local and regional guiding interests; leisure, recreation centres and golf clubs; local and community tourism co-operatives and tourist facilities and services.
The last tourism council, through a subcommittee chaired by Peter Malone of Jury Hotels, produced a report on tourism manpower and training for the 21st century. A number of key issues were highlighted by the report, but the two most important were the shortage of trained staff and the poor image of the industry. Many people in the industry now rely on this report. There were difficulties recently with recruiting staff into the industry. I am happy that in his report, Mr. Malone identified the image of the industry and how it related to the shortage of trained staff as being a problem.
The perception of the tourism industry as an industry dogged by long hours and low pay is not attractive. We all agree that this poor image needs to be seriously addressed and this must be done sooner rather than later. The Minister for Tourism and Trade, Deputy Kenny, raised this question when addressing the annual conference of the Irish Hotels Federation in Cork in February and the industry is aware of the problem.
There are, as we all know, some craft sectors in the industry which have improved their image. The hotel chef is probably a good example. Other positions in the industry, unfortunately, do not have the same reputation and are often seen as unattractive and inferior. The industry must do more to project itself as a worthwhile and rewarding career for young people. Improving the image involves addressing matters such as pay, hours of work training for a career, and terms and conditions of employment. Many hoteliers are conscious of their responsibilities but there is a minority who fail to take a longer term perspective.
The stream of young eager and highly motivated recruits for all sectors of Irish industry will not continue indefinitely. The Malone report referred to the fact that tourism will face increasing competition from other service sectors because of the level of growth in the economy and demographic changes towards the end of this decade and beyond.
The Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland, in conjunction with CERT, formed a recruitment committee to look at ways of encouraging operators to increase the promotion of careers in the hospitality industry and to make them an attractive option for school leavers. In 1995 the committee launched a pilot promotional scheme aimed at second level students in the mid-west. The scheme was well received by schools and industry alike and it is planned to extend this promotional scheme nationwide during 1996.
Action must now be taken to face these problems. The Government, through CERT, will train over 70,000 people for tourism by 1999. This is a major commitment. CERT has produced a draft corporate plan for the period up to 1999 which takes on board much of the recent analysis conducted and seeks to reposition the organisation to meet the future needs and requirements of the industry.
However, the industry must address these critical issues if it is to continue to secure and retain a quality trained workforce. The level of European social funds available for training and other related tourism initiatives will be uncertain when the current operational programme expires in 1999. The industry must plan now to develop and take responsibility for its training needs.
The new tourism council chaired by the Minister Deputy Kenny, which will first meet tomorrow, acts as a national forum for consultation between the tourism industry, State tourism agencies and Government Departments. Manpower planning is one of the strategic issues listed on the agenda for discussion by the council at a future date. It may be the only forum of its kind where the Minister acts as chairman and the people involved in the industry have direct access to the Cabinet. It is unique in that regard.
We must accept that for a variety of reasons, some parts of the country will always have a stronger tourism appeal than others. This is not to say every area does not have its own story to tell and a significant tourism potential. The strategy must be to ensure that the optimum support mechanisms are in place to facilitate realisation of this potential. We have made a great deal of progress in this respect and regional tourism interests should take full advantage.
Understandable concerns have been expressed recently about the regional spread of tourism growth. It is important, however, that we maintain a sense of proportion in what is an outstanding success story for all regions. I hope my contribution this evening and the debate that will follow will help in this respect.
I apologise for my lengthy reply, but in view of the importance of this motion, both I and the Minister felt it deserved a substantial response.
I welcome the Minister and thank him for his broad and sweeping statement on the future of our tourism industry up to 1999. The Minister admitted that the Structural Funds, especially those relating to training, will be completely exhausted by that time. We must grasp the nettle by putting our house in order and setting up training programmes.
I support the motion's call to "take action to promote even growth in tourist numbers and income in the regions". The Minister admitted the need for this when he said that the growth in 1995 seems to have been in the eastern side of the country. We are all well aware of that because the streets of Dublin, and other areas on the east coast, were bursting at the seams from May to October.
On the other side of the country, however, there was a huge decline, particularly from North America. The Shannon Airport flyover caused real problems for the region. The Minister said that figures are not yet available for 1995 but I know that tourist figures from North America to Kerry were down last year, although we clawed some of it back through increased figures from Europe.
The Cork-Swansea ferry nearly went to the wall last year and it is still shaky. If that service had not been operating for the Cork/Kerry region we would have had a weak season in the south west. How does the new marketing board intend to get the influx of people in the eastern side of the country to the west? How we can counteract the imbalance?
There are cheap flights from Dublin to the UK, but why can we not have similar flights into Shannon, Cork and Farranfore? Americans can now fly from the United States to any part of Britain or into Dublin far more cheaply than flying from Shannon to New York. There may be a £150 difference at this time of the year. That is a huge imbalance because for £150 people could stay an extra five or six nights in a bed and breakfast establishment. When people are planning their holidays they take such considerations into account and they will go for the cheapest deal. Naturally, anyone visiting Ireland from any part of the world would like to see Dublin, but tourists should also be attracted to the most beautiful part of the country in my own region.
The imbalance in landing rights and fees is causing problems in the south west. The Government will have to deal with the fact that while there are free landing rights in Shannon and Cork Airports, exorbitant landing fees are charged at the new airport in Farranfore which has cost £15 million of taxpayers' money. We cannot compete with other regions because the playing pitch is uneven. It is totally unfair. The Government must act to improve this imbalance by levelling the playing pitch. The Government will also have to provide extra resources for our roads infrastructure so that we can compete with the east coast region.
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin, recently produced a nice glossy brochure about clearing up rubbish on our roads, but action will have to be taken on this. When I drive from Kerry to Dublin every week I am ashamed of the appalling amount of rubbish on the road, which is disgraceful. On the way up from Kerry yesterday I saw 20 or 30 FÁS people out with rubbish bags picking it up. People will have to be made more conscious of rubbish and encouraged not to throw it on the roads for others to pick up. People will have to become more conscious of their own countryside and the environment in general.
The Minister mentioned that visitor figures through Shannon Airport were up last year. While that is true, the figures were well down from North America generally. Over the years extra facilities have been installed to cater for tourists, and during the winter extra bed nights were created in Killarney, Tralee and elsewhere in County Kerry. Despite that, we will have a fall off in numbers because visitors will take the cheapest and shortest route into the country which is in the east.
I was amused by the figures from the Dublin Tourism Board which show that 40 per cent of people who came into the east were anxious to move onto other parts of the country. When people landed in Shannon or Cork we got the first wave, which is the best. Now, however, by the time we get them coming from the eastern side of the country the lining in their pockets is running thin. Their spending power is not as good as it would be at the start of their holidays.
The split between the Shannon Regional Tourism Authority promoting the northern part of Kerry, and Cork-Kerry Tourism running the southern part of the county has created a desperate situation. It is ludicrous to promote County Kerry in two halves because of administration and other costs. That problem will have to be tackled by marketing Kerry as a single region.
If we are to develop the west, including Clare, Galway and Mayo, people must be encouraged to come in through Cork, Shannon or Farranfore Airports and aboard the Cork-Swansea ferry so that the west will benefit generally. It is wrong if 60 to 70 per cent of tourists are coming in through the eastern side of the country where hotels are shooting up. People in the west are totally dependent on the tourist trade, and staff trained in local hotels have won awards all over the world.
I thank the Minister for his lengthy speech and for the interest he has taken in the situation. The Minister should take on board the points that Senator Fitzgerald and I have raised. The east-west tourism imbalance must be corrected, because if it is not done now it will be impossible to promote industry and tourism in the west after 1999. You might as well lock the west behind a gate, and one day the eastern side of the country will tip into the sea because there will be no one left in the west.
While we welcome urban renewal as it relates to seaside resorts, facilities and infrastructure must be put into the west. Big shots with money are building holiday homes and using resources in our seaside towns, but the money will have to be invested to put these facilities in place if we want to develop the country together. It is pointless to bring people in for a two or three week holiday when we need to attract visitors into our areas for four or five months of the season.
Debate adjourned.
The Seanad adjourned at 7.20 p.m.sine die.