Vol. 406 No. 7
33 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the United States in an effort to encourage more Americans to Ireland; and if he will outline the results of his visit.
As the Deputy may be aware the North American market is our third largest market after Britain and Continental Europe in terms of visitor numbers. American visitors to Ireland however spend, on average, a third more than Continental European visitors and over twice that of the average British visitor.
I met with key representatives of the Irish Tourist Industry at a tourism conference in Dublin Castle on 11 March 1991. Concern was expressed at the falloff in bookings from North America resulting from the Gulf war.
I was pleased therefore to take the opportunity to visit the United States over the St. Patrick's Day holiday period and to reassure Americans that Ireland is a safe and value for money holiday destination to visit.
I am hopeful that the Irish tourist industry will regain some of the lost ground now that the Gulf war has ended.
