Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 December 2013
21. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the tourism policy review; the issues that are emerging following the public consultation; and when the final document will be published. [54334/13]
View answerThe Tourism Policy Review was launched on 11th September 2013 by Minister Ring and me. It was launched with the publication of an issues paper and request for submissions. The level of interest has been such that I extended the deadline for receipt of responses to the public consultation to 22 November 2013. A detailed analysis of all responses has commenced. In terms of the responses to date, over 160 submissions have been received from a wide variety of interested parties.
In addition to inviting submissions, I decided to carry out a series of workshops around the country, with regional national tourism stakeholders, which have just been completed. These workshops, which were chaired by either Minister Ring or me, were intended to allow a more focused conversation around the kinds of issues raised in our discussion document. These workshops were a valuable to explore and tease some of the key issues.
Reflecting the diverse nature of tourism itself, a wide range of issues are emerging from the consultation. They include, but are not confined to, the role of local authorities in tourism (especially in light of the Gathering); the scope for cooperative marketing between public and private sectors; the continuing importance of the visa regime in the context of developing markets; the importance of maintaining the quality and skills of those working in tourism; the importance of competitiveness, and the potential for innovation.
The views raised and other relevant evidence and analysis will now be considered, feeding into the drafting of the new policy in the New Year with a view to finalising it by Easter 2014.
