Olivia Mitchell
Question:23 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the projected tourist numbers to Ireland from European Union states for the 2004 season; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19688/04]
View answerThursday, 1 July 2004
Questions (35, 36, 37, 38)
Phil Hogan
Question:26 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the projected North American tourist numbers for the 2004 season; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19685/04]
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Brendan Howlin
Question:36 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the latest CSO statistics on tourist numbers to Ireland for the first quarter of 2004; his further views on whether the numbers demonstrate a significant recovery in numbers visiting Ireland from abroad; the efforts his Department is making to attract an increased number of tourists from other European countries specifically; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19726/04]
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Gerard Murphy
Question:38 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount to be spent in 2004 promoting Ireland as a tourist destination abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19715/04]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 26, 36 and 38 together.
Government investment in support of tourism this year will be well over €110 million. Of this, almost €70 million will be spent in general support for the marketing and promotion activities of the State tourism agencies, including the largest ever provision for the tourism marketing fund of €31.5 million. This represents a strong endorsement of the performance of the two agencies and the tourism industry generally in delivering value for this substantial Exchequer investment.
On the basis of such a significant Exchequer investment, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland are rolling out a comprehensive range of programmes and activities across all product niches and markets to help realise the ambitious target of 4% growth in visitor numbers again this year. Key to achieving this target will be Irish tourism's performance in two of our most important markets, continental Europe and North America. Last year, visitor numbers from continental Europe were at record levels. The North American market also performed strongly in the aftermath of the war in Iraq and the SARS crisis. In 2003 we had 6.3 million visitors to our shores, of whom almost 2.5 million came from either continental Europe or North America.
In revenue terms, these two markets account for over 50% of our overseas earnings. This year, Tourism Ireland has once again focused its marketing programme on those segments of the continental European and North American markets which offer the greatest potential. Close to 60% of its marketing budget is being deployed to target 6% and 8% growth in numbers from continental Europe and North America, respectively, in 2004. The early indications from these markets have been positive and provide grounds for optimism for the remainder of the year.
For the first four months of 2004 the Central Statistics Office has reported an increase of 22% in the number of North American visitors to Ireland. This performance compares very favourably with a growth rate of 8% in all outbound travel from the United States to Europe in the first two months of the year. The 2003 performance for the same period was weak due to the Iraqi situation but there are strong grounds for optimism regarding the North American market generally this year. This is good news for the regions and for those sectors of the industry which rely heavily on US business.
The Central Statistics Office has reported an increase of 4.5% in the numbers of continental European visitors to Ireland in the first four months of 2004. As European economies begin to recover, tourism demand will increase and Ireland is competitively well positioned to take full advantage of this upturn. Scheduled air access capacity from continental Europe to the island of Ireland is higher this summer than last year, which augurs well for continued growth from Europe over the peak months.
The accession of ten new member states to the EU may also produce tourism dividends in the future. These countries represent an EU population increase of nearly 20% and generated outbound travel spending of €8.2 billion last year. These figures suggest that there is market potential for Irish tourism and, over the last four years, Ireland has experienced steady growth, albeit from a low base, in visitor numbers from eastern Europe, most notably Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
In line with our programme for Government and the recommendations of the tourism policy review group, Tourism Ireland has initiated a review of continental European markets to identify what is required to realise significant increases in the numbers of tourists Ireland attracts from these markets. Barring major external shocks, all the indications this year are for positive growth in our key tourism markets, particularly in terms of winning market share against stiff international competition. I am confident that, if the industry maintains its focus on promoting and delivering a value for money tourism product, Ireland can continue to outperform its nearest competitors into the future.
Question No. 24 answered with QuestionNo. 22.
Question No. 25 answered with QuestionNo. 21.
Question No. 26 answered with QuestionNo. 23.
Question No. 27 answered with QuestionNo. 13.