Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
285. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which she anticipates scope for the revival of the tourism sector if measures to contain Covid-19 are successful; if good practice in relation to social distancing and hygiene should remain in place for a time thereafter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11844/21]
View answerTourism is one of Ireland’s most important industries. It is estimated that the sector as a whole contributed over €9 billion to the economy in 2019 and supported approximately 260,000 jobs.
The impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism globally has been overwhelming, with unprecedented and extremely serious consequences for Ireland’s tourism and hospitality sector since spring 2020.
As we saw last summer, there is a significant demand for tourism when public health advice allows it. However, a significant part of the tourism economy is based on overseas visitors (with almost 75% of the revenue generated by tourism coming from overseas visitors) and until we can safely allow overseas visitors to enter the country, it will be difficult for the sector to recover. Tourism Ireland have been actively working behind the scenes to keep Ireland front and centre in the minds of potential travellers and at the appropriate time they will launch an extensive global recovery kick-start programme.
I appointed a Tourism Recovery Oversight Group in December 2020 to oversee the implementation of the Tourism Recovery Plan 2020-2023 and to monitor the sector’s recovery from the COVID crisis. The Recovery Plan makes a number of recommendations, both to help ensure the survival of tourism businesses and jobs and also to help the sector to stabilise and recover in the years to come. The Oversight Group reported to me recently with its initial findings and will do so on a regular basis as regards the implementation of the Plan and the recovery of the sector.
I am confident that we can put in place an environment that will help tourism rebound in a significant way when public health advice allows us to do so. With regard to any social distancing and hygiene practices that might remain in place for the tourism sector, this is primarily a matter for the public health authorities but I have no doubt that the tourism sector will play its part in implementing best practice, as it has done up to now.
