Jack Wall
Question:1 Mr. Wall asked the Taoiseach the number of visitors to Ireland in 2003; the way in which this compares with 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31557/03]
View answerTuesday, 23 March 2004
Questions (1)
Oral answers (26 contributions)
It is estimated that there were just under 6.4 million overseas visits to Ireland by non-residents in 2003 compared with almost 6.1 million such visits in 2002, an increase of 5%.
Are returned emigrants and migrants into the country included in the figures as tourists?
I understand they are listed under visits to Ireland, and a visit to Ireland is based on a cross-Channel route, including from the US and Canada. Therefore, it could be anyone travelling to the country.
Is there a means of extractingpure tourist numbers to do a year-on-year comparison?
In so far as year-on-year comparisons are carried out, the same basis for determining the figures has been used for a number of years by the CSO. It is a strict comparison on an annual basis.
The number of migrants has changed.
We know on a quarterly basis what the increase is for the corresponding period of the previous year. For example, for October to December of last year, there were 1,074,000 visitors, an increase of 9.5%. This figure can be broken down into both trans-Atlantic and cross-Channel visitors but it does not distinguish whether these people are returning emigrants.
Are the figures given all-Ireland figures or do they refer only to the Twenty-six County jurisdiction? Are visitors from the Six County area to the rest of the island lumped in as external visitors for the purposes of the statistics? Is there a breakdown of figures by EU member states? It would be helpful if these figures were available. Perhaps the Minister of State will agree that many people are making a comparison between the pricing of tourist accommodation and leisure——
The Deputy is going outside the substance of the question.
I am explaining why I am asking the question.
The Deputy does not have to explain why he is asking a question.
It is great that the Ceann Comhairle already understands the reason. Perhaps the Minister of State has been able to read all that detail too and I would be grateful for her response.
The first two questions are in order.
The information gathered by the CSO is listed under Overseas Visits to Ireland which are then categorised under Route of Travel, Area of Residence and Reason for Journey. As these include air cross-Channel, sea cross-Channel, continental Europe and trans-Atlantic travel, the information gathered is specific.
Does it take into account the port of Larne?
I do not think so. It includes ports in the Twenty-six Counties, which is the jurisdiction covered by the CSO.
Will the Minister of State encourage that this detail is secured. Many people visiting these shores access through the North of Ireland and, as there is no detail in regard to cross-Border traffic in either direction, it is important to get the full, holistic detail. Such information on the port of Larne and other ports which give opportunities for access through the North of Ireland to the island of Ireland would be important detail——
The Deputy must confine himself to a question.
Perhaps the Minister of State will respond to that supplementary question.
I did not hear the question.
In trying to have me stopped, a Cheann Comhairle, you probably missed it once again.
I am sure we will be able to do a comparative study with the relevant information taken by the body responsible for Northern Ireland. We did that recently in regard to figures on speakers of the Irish language. Perhaps it would be helpful to use the information as a comparison.
What is the full extent of the information gleaned from the statistics? For example, do we know the country of origin in all cases, whether the visit is a first or repeat visit and what can be done to identify how to market our tourism programme as a result of the information contained in the statistics?
I have stated the categories under which the information is collated. These include the route, area of residence and the reason for journey. Information is also collated on the basis of overnight visits, the number of nights that people stay and the estimated average length of stay, but it does not quantify individual countries or the length of time for which a visitor from Italy, for example, might stay. It also tells us the number of bed-nights categorised under hotels, guest houses, rented houses, caravans and hostels or if people are staying with friends or relatives, which is very useful information for the Minister when developing marketing campaigns. That information is categorised by country. Visitors from the USA stay mostly in hotels and guest houses, whereas those coming from Europe tend to stay in rented houses and apartments. Much work has been done that will contribute to the marketing campaign.
Deputies are aware that the Minister has targeted a 4% increase in tourism for this year, an ambitious target, and aims over the coming years to double the overseas visitor spend in the country to €6 billion. These statistics will be useful when we are carrying out specific marketing campaigns.
Is it possible to be more specific about the information to identify those who are here on a return visit so the Minister can target that market?
By differentiating between those areas where there are major marketing campaigns, we can use that information. Britain is treated as a separate entity because of the links between us, the large number of tourists from there and the fact that we can have a particular marketing campaign there while we deal with the rest of Europe separately.
Tourism Ireland has a budget of over €50 million for this year, Fáilte Ireland has a budget of €80 million and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has a budget of €115 million, money that is well spent given that we are reaching our targets, particularly in light of present global uncertainty.