I propose to take questions 97,99 and 116 together.
I understand that figures published by the Central Statistics Office last week show that Irish tourism is enjoying a very good year and all of our main overseas markets are showing growth. For the eight month period between January and August, the number of overseas visits to Ireland increased by 6.5% to 4.75 million. Visits from North America were up by 16.5%; visits from Mainland Europe were up by 4.8%; visits from Great Britain were up by 3.7% for the eight month period while total visits from other areas increased by 11.3%. I was particularly pleased to note the increase in visits from Great Britain over the peak summer months of June to August of 4.7% over 2012. Of course, the second quarter figures reflected the changing date of Easter in 2012 and 2013.
Tourism Ireland is the agency with responsibility for the overseas marketing of the Island of Ireland as a holiday destination. The agency continues to roll out major marketing campaigns in all of our main overseas markets including a brand new plan specifically in Great Britain called "GB Path to Growth" which was developed in conjunction with tourism industry partners. The agency is also working hard to put Ireland on the map in emerging markets and this year's activity in this regard includes arranging familiarisation visits for leading travel agents and tour operators from these markets and also cooperative campaigns with airlines and tour operators serving these regions.
In terms of our ability to attract repeat visitors, we welcome all visitors whether first timers or repeat visitors. Having said that, it is primarily a matter for the tourism industry itself to ensure that the visitor experience is an enjoyable one thus increasing the likelihood of such repeat visits. It is estimated that up to 40% of our overseas visitors last year were repeat visitors.
With regard to tourism strategies for the medium to longer term, Tourism Ireland is currently finalising its three year Corporate Plan to cover the 2014 -2017 period which will, inter alia, contain targets for each of our main overseas tourism markets. I also launched a comprehensive Review of Tourism Policy in recent weeks and the outcome of this Review will ultimately influence the future direction and strategy for Irish tourism.