Vol. 537 No. 4
32 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the measures he has put in place to date to specifically target the regional disparity of tourist numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16134/01]
As stated in my reply to Question No. 415 on 3 April 2001, responsibility for promoting the regions rests with Bord Fáilte, the relevant regional tourism authorities and the industry in each region.
Bord Fáilte is currently providing funding for a series of marketing initiatives by the regional tourism authorities. Meanwhile the new tourism product investment scheme under the national development plan, which will also be implemented by Bord Fáilte and which I expect to launch shortly, will have a strong focus on less developed tourism areas. It cannot be emphasised often enough that successful realisation of the tourism product development strategy and achievement of its redistribution objective is dependent on, and directly linked to, the delivery by relevant local and other authorities of the necessary infrastructure, facilities and controls.
