Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2012
50. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport having regard to the reduced detail and frequency with which tourism statistics are published by the Central Statistics Office, if his attention has been drawn to the importance of reliable and frequent data for policy purposes and also for the various agencies with regard to operational management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45123/12]
View answerTimely, reliable tourism statistics are recognised in Government strategies as essential for measuring on-going performance and informing both the operations of the tourism agencies and overarching Government policies and actions. My officials and I have regular and constructive engagement with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the tourism agencies in relation to data on tourism performance.
Official tourism statistics are published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland’s independent national statistical agency and an office of the Department of the Taoiseach, which is responsible for the collection, compilation, extraction and dissemination for statistical purposes of information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions in the State. Under the Statistics Act 1993, the CSO is statutorily independent in respect of its functions. The CSO publishes official statistics on tourism in three releases based on different surveys. “Overseas Travel” reports on the number of overseas trips, both inbound and outbound. “Tourism and Travel” reports on international travel including expenditure, purpose of visit and overnight stays, in addition to overseas trip numbers. The “Household Travel Survey” reports on Irish households’ travel and tourism, both at home and overseas, and includes details on expenditure, purpose of trip and overnight stays.
In addition to using the CSO statistics, the tourism agencies also conduct their own analyses of tourism performance and further research to provide supplementary information and insights. This includes a range of tourism surveys conducted by Fáilte Ireland (including the Survey of Overseas Travellers and the Visitor Attitudes Survey) which give further detail on aspects such as visitors’ motivation for holidaying in Ireland, activities undertaken, destinations visited and accommodation used. Given the differing demands of agencies, policymakers and industry, and the balance required between quality, standardisation, frequency and relevance of statistics, it is appropriate to use a range of data sources such as these, as well as the official CSO data.
