Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2007
201 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the degree to which it is anticipated to meet the travel and accommodation requirements of the tourist industry in the future with particular reference to expected developments in the aftermath of the Open Skies policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12096/07]
View answerI believe that the proposed Open Skies agreement between the EU and the US represents a very positive development for Irish Tourism. It has been a major objective of tourism policy and has long been supported by industry interests and endorsed by the Tourism Policy Review Group. The new services to the US will facilitate the opening of new markets for Irish tourism. In this regard, I know that the airline carriers will be anxious to exploit the new opportunities.
Aer Lingus has already announced that it proposes to commence new services to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington Dulles later this year.
In terms of the additional accommodation requirements, I am aware that Fáilte Ireland's Hotel Survey recorded an annual room occupancy of 64% in 2006 indicating that, throughout the year and across the regions, there is capacity available in the hotel sector.
Developments will, of course, be kept under review by the Tourism Strategy Implementation Group and the Tourism Agencies to ensure that the Irish Tourism industry benefits to the maximum extent from this excellent new opportunity.
