Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 March 2012
78 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the efforts he made to promote Irish heritage and cultural tourism on the occasion of the recent visit to Ireland by the Vice President of China; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12485/12]
View answerThe recent visit to Ireland of Vice President Xi Jinping provided a major boost to the profile of Irish culture and heritage in China, as well as strengthening our overall relationship with the People's Republic and with their most senior leadership. During his time in Ireland, Vice President Xi visited Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, and this focus on Ireland's historic heritage was continued and enhanced with his visit to the Cliffs of Moher. On the final evening of the visit, at Vice-President Xi's request, the Government organised a special performance of Riverdance, which took place in Dublin in honour of the Vice President and his delegation, building on the extraordinary success and impact that this show has generated in China over the last decade.
International coverage of the visit was extensive both in China and worldwide. The Xinhua News Agency covered the entire visit and reports appeared on Shanghai TV and Shanghai Oriental TV and in The Shanghai Daily, China Daily, Shanghai Morning Post, Beijing Daily, Can Kao Xiao Xi and the South China Morning Post. Positive reports by agencies such as Bloomberg, Reuters and AFP appeared elsewhere in the Straits Times, the Nikkei Shinbum, the Mainichi, the Asahi, the Financial Times Deutschland, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Les Echos, Canada's Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Sun, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Times and the Financial Times. France 24 also covered the visit. Given this extensive coverage, I expect the benefit both to cultural and heritage tourism and to Ireland's cultural profile generally to be very significant.
