Vol. 440 No. 7
25 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his views on whether one-third of visitors from the United States to Ireland in 1992 felt that Ireland offered poor value for money; and the steps, if any, he intends to take to reverse this adverse trend.
63 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his views on whether one-third of visitors from the United States to Ireland in 1992 felt that Ireland offered poor value for money; and the steps, if any, he intends to take to reverse this adverse trend.
66 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his views on whether one-third of visitors from the United States to Ireland in 1992 felt that Ireland offered poor value for money; and the steps, if any, he intends to take to reverse this adverse trend.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 63 and 66 together.
In 1992, 67 per cent of US holidaymakers considered Ireland fair or good value for money while 33 per cent rated it poor value. In 1993 the proportion who gave a poor value rating fell substantially to 15 per cent. Visitor satisfaction ratings are, however, higher with 93 per cent of US visitors in 1993 either completely or very satisfied.
It must be remembered that exchange rates have an important bearing on value for money perceptions. For example, in 1993, after the devaluation of the Irish pound, the US dollar purchased 10 per cent to 15 per cent more Irish pounds than in 1992.
Value for money is crucial to tourism development in all markets. Government policy has contributed to the improvement of the value for money aspect of Irish holidays. The 1994 budget, in particular, included a number of provisions aimed at improving the cost competitiveness of the industry and Bord Fáilte and the industry has increased its promotion of off-season and special value holiday packages.
The questions of product quality and price are among the issues being addressed by the Tourism Council and its committees. In addition, I have asked the industry itself to direct its attention to the related issue of customer satisfaction.
Would the Minister agree that one of the reasons for the decline in visitors from the USA in 1993 was reports of poor value for money from over 130,000 US visitors in the previous year? Does he agree that word of mouth is the best form of advertising? Does he agree also that news spreads alarmingly quickly throughout the tourism industry and that if we get a bad name, news of this spreads quickly? What steps are being taken to improve the quality of the Irish tourism product, especially in the areas of hygiene, quality food and competitive pricing?
I certainly agree that word of mouth is the best form of advertising. One might be able to encourage tourists to visit once by targeted advertising at a market segment but undoubtedly it is word of mouth when they tell their friends about how they enjoyed their experience in Ireland that will make them return with them.
One could write a major opus on what tourists perceive as value for money. In my reply I said that in 1993 one could purchase 10 per cent to 15 per cent more with US Dollars than in 1992 and perhaps that coloured perceptions of the value people got for their money. However, hygiene, quality food and competitive pricing are very important in encouraging visitors to return. Over the past decade standards have risen enormously. There is no point in giving shoddy service or ripping off the tourist because he or she will not return and their friends, relations and family will not visit either. There is a different culture now for dealing with tourists than 20 yeas ago. People perceive that it is in their own interests to deal fairly with tourists and this has led to improvement in services all round.
Given the low level of repeat tourism in the local and foreign tourist markets does the Department have any policy on it? Is it taking any measures to encourage visitors to think in terms of repeat tourism and encourage those involved in the industry to provide the necessary incentives for tourists to return to this country? Does the Minister agree that we need to create a culture whereby people look at the benefits to be gained from repeat tourism?
The purpose of the plans, the last operational programme and the various measures taken by myself and previous Ministers for Tourism and by the industry is to encourage tourists to return. As the Deputy is aware, tourist numbers have been increasing in recent years and much of the increase can be attributed to the fact that many tourists are returning because they have had wonderful experiences here. I hope the measures that have been taken during the past decade and which will be taken to improve the product will lead to an increase in the level of repeat tourism.
