Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2006
125 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the growth of the North American, European or other locations from whence tourists have come here in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35024/06]
View answerThe compilation and dissemination of Tourism and Travel Statistics is primarily an operational matter for the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and its publications are available to the Deputy. In terms of travel to Ireland, the picture, I am glad to say, is a healthy one. Last year, almost 7 million overseas visitors came to Ireland with an associated spend on the ground of almost €3.5 billion and a further €583 million on carrier receipts. The 2005 visitor numbers were up almost 10% on the corresponding figure for 2003.
All of the major tourism markets showed growth in visitor numbers between 2003 and 2005 as follows:
Britain — up almost 3% at 3.8 million,
Mainland Europe — up 28% at almost 2 million
North America — up over 5% at 953,000, and
Other Long Haul Markets — up over 14% at 285,000.
While it is too early to make final predictions regarding the 2006 season, overseas visitor numbers for the first 8 months of the year are up by almost 11% on the corresponding period for 2005, putting us on course for a record tourism season. Current performance suggests that we may not just achieve but exceed our 2006 targets of a 4.9% growth in visitor numbers and an associated increase of 6.7% in revenue. As global competition intensifies and consumer preferences evolve, these results represent a very robust performance by the sector and emphasise the dynamism and responsiveness of the Irish tourism sector.
126 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if holidays here are competitively priced with holidays in the US, Canada or throughout Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35025/06]
View answerTourism is a services industry, which relies heavily on labour, and Irish public policy operates on the basis of seeking to ensure that those in employment are paid fair wages. Our fiscal model also emphasises indirect as opposed to direct taxation. While both these approaches provide a strong economic development impetus, they can impact on consumption costs for the visitor.
The Tourism Agencies continue to monitor Ireland's competitiveness as a tourism destination. While Ireland is clearly not a low-cost destination, it does seem that Ireland is not perceived as an expensive destination to get to but that there are issues about the relative cost of some on-the-ground amenities.
In 2005, Tourism Ireland undertook a pilot project that focused on benchmarking Ireland's offering on-line against our key competitors in the top four markets (GB, USA, France and Germany) in relation to the cost, availability and choice of flights, hotels and car hire. Overall, it appears that Ireland, in the on-line arena, is very competitive in these sectors.
Fáilte Ireland's Visitor Attitude Survey shows that the area of value, price and good all-round value for money remains an important prerequisite for visitors when considering Ireland as their holiday destination, as does the availability of reasonably priced accommodation and competitively priced air and sea fares. It is important to remember that competitiveness is not just about price. It is about value for money and, if our tourism sector is to be competitive, that is what it must deliver. As in most industries, there is, no doubt, scope for efficiency gains and Fáilte Ireland has a range of programmes to help the industry in this area.
