Vol. 438 No. 8
7 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if the £5 million announced for tourism in the 1994 budget will be part of Bord Fáilte's budget or if it will be spent by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
14 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the current status of the £3 million marketing drive in the USA; the specific targets which have been laid down to measure the effectiveness of this campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
17 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the current status of the £3 million marketing drive in the USA; the specific targets which have been laid down to measure the effectiveness of this campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
19 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he will give a breakdown of the way in which he intends to spend the £3 million special allocation in the 1994 Estimates for the promotion of Ireland in the United States.
21 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the current status of the £3 million marketing drive in the USA; the specific targets which have been laid down to measure the effectiveness of this campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
27 Mr. McGahon asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he will give a breakdown of the way in which he intends to spend the £3 million special allocation in the 1994 Estimates for the promotion of Ireland in the United States.
31 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the manner in which he intends to spend the £5 million allocated in the 1994 budget to market Ireland abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
43 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the manner in which he intends to spend the £5 million allocated in the 1994 budget to market Ireland abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
46 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if he will give a breakdown on the way in which he intends to spend the £3 million special allocation in the 1994 Estimates for the promotion of Ireland in the United States.
50 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the manner in which he intends to spend the £5 million allocated in the 1994 budget to market Ireland abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
58 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his expectations for growth in tourism from the United States in 1994; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose taking Questions Nos. 7, 14, 17, 19, 21, 27, 31, 43, 46, 50 and 58 together.
The Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy will be discussing later today, in the context of, a Supplementary Estimate for my Department, the provision of £8 million for tourism promotion and development purposes which includes the consumer advertising campaign in the US and the £5 million recently announced in the budget.
As the House will already be aware, the advertising campaign in the US market is specifically aimed at securing additional tourist business to Ireland in 1994 and represents a unique response by the Government to an innovative proposal by the industry involving a partnership by my Department and the industry in a joint marketing campaign. The campaign is being co-funded by the Exchequer, the European Union and the tourism industry.
Advertising has been identified as the most effective means of generating incremental travel and the intensive media campaign, which will supplement Bord Fáilte's regular expenditure in the US market, will commence on 21 February with commercials on national cable and network television highlighting Ireland in a vibrant way. The television campaign will also be complemented by extensive advertisements in magazines and newspapers. In addition, a special 16-page full colour brochure "Ireland Vacations '94" has been produced featuring airfares and packages. This will be available for distribution to inquirers.
I am confident that the efforts being undertaken in the campaign will result in a resurgence of interest in Ireland. The campaign target is an incremental growth of 45,000 in vacation visitors. Combined with the growth forecast by Bord Fáilte an overall increase of 57,000 in visitor numbers from North America is expected, generating over £20 million in additional tourism revenue. This initiative was considered to be opportune given the strengthening of the US dollar, positive economic recovery in the US, the anticipated growth in visitors travelling to Europe and of course our participation in the World Cup.
The Irish tourism industry has been one of the most successful sectors of the economy in recent years and the Government's commitment to developing the sector further has been reaffirmed in the recent budget where an additional £5 million was allocated for a special tourism promotion and development programme. These funds will be under my direct control and I would like to outline to the House the new initiatives which I propose to implement. Essentially, the fund will be targeted at: intensified promotional campaigns aimed at the UK and other European markets; increased marketing to support and extend common air fare rating of Ireland with a number of European destinations, particularly London, so that more long haul tourists visit Ireland; innovative marketing programmes linked to sporting or artistic events; and projects coming on stream from the tourism council.
Tourism has been singled out by the Government as a target area for the generation of wealth and employment. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the measures which I have just outlined are intended to capture an increased share for Ireland.
Would the Minister agree that the policy of using funding through his Department is a further diminution of the role of Bord Fáilte and is part of an obvious campaign to make it irrelevant? Will he confirm that it is the intention to set up a special marketing unit in his Department to administer these funds?
There are later questions on the role of Bord Fáilte tabled by the Deputy and others. This particular question relates to the provision of £8 million for tourism promotion and development.
It is not correct to say that I intend to sideline Bord Fáilte, as the Deputy seems to indicate. Last October I announced a £3 million marketing drive, which would be funded from the industry, Bord Fáilte, the Exchequer and European funds. People in the industry had been saying for years that if they had control of some funds they would do things differently. This campaign provides them with an opportunity to put their money where their mouths are. While the campaign will be administered by a senior civil servant in my Department, the initiative was taken by the industry. The additional £5 million for tourism announced in the budget by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Ahern, will be aimed mainly at the United Kingdom and European market to complement the activities of Bord Fáilte. As Minister for Tourism and Trade I want, in conjunction with Bord Fáilte, to get more people in the industry involved. A fair proportion of the £3 million will be put up by the industry itself. This was its idea and we will see how it will work.
Let us not dwell unduly long on any one question. It can only be to the detriment of the other priority questions.
Will the Minister appoint a special consultant to manage the marketing drive in America? How will he ensure accountability and responsibility in the expenditure of this money? If Bord Fáilte is not to be the agent, who will supervise the expenditure of this money in America?
The subcommittee, which comprises those involved in the industry who came up with the idea of launching a new initiative in the United States, announced last October, has decided that it would be appropriate to appoint a tourism consultant to assist it in drawing up a marketing programme. This is being done. On the question of accountability, the Supplementary Estimate will be discussed this afternoon by the select committee. This provision will be included in the Vote for my Department and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, in accordance with normal accounting practice.
Question No. 8, please.
May I ask a final supplementary?
Question No. 8, please.
This is Question Time, a Cheann Comhairle.
No Member is entitled to hog an undue amount of the time available.
The Minister took a long time.
Do not waste time, Deputy.
