Mary Upton
Ceist:8 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he has conducted an assessment of the effects which rising inflation is having on the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2047/03]
Other Questions. - Tourism Industry.
Mary Upton
Ceist:11 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the remit of the new tourism review group; the names of its members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2048/03]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:15 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his plans for the expansion of the tourism industry with particular reference to the policies needed to ensure competitiveness and viability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2127/03]
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:19 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the measures he is taking to improve price competitiveness in the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2046/03]
Eamon Gilmore
Ceist:23 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the findings of a recent survey which found that almost half of all visitors to Ireland believe that Irish restaurants do not offer value for money; his proposals to improve this figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2049/03]
Damien English
Ceist:29 Mr. English asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the loss of competitiveness of the Irish tourism product; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2121/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 29 together.
The tourism industry is one of the great success stories of the modern Irish economy and it is essential that it continues to prosper. The performance of Irish tourism during the 1990s has rightly been described as spectacular. The reality today, however, is that there have been significant and quite rapid changes in the industry, the business environment and visitors' expectations and perceptions. We are facing more intensive competition and our competitiveness is under threat, as is the traditional uniqueness of the Irish holiday offering.
Obviously it is critical that our tourism product remains competitive in international terms. While pricing is important, it is not necessarily the key issue as Ireland has never been marketed as a cheap mass tourism destination. Value for money and quality are the key issues and I have consistently warned that the industry must guard against complacency.
I have said before that there is evidence from research conducted by Bord Fáilte that there is a deterioration in perceptions of value for money among visitors to Ireland, particularly from mainland Europe. The recent appreciation of the euro presents further challenges. Visitor concern with price levels here appears to relate primarily to the cost of goods and services consumed by them when they arrive rather than the price of holiday offers, access or accommodation. There is simply no refuting the fact that inflation rates in the restaurants, hotels and licensed premises sector and in the recreation and culture category are running well ahead of national figures.
While the Government and its agencies have a role to play in supporting the further development of the sector, the tourism industry itself has primary responsibility for keeping prices in check. It must do all in its power to control costs, improve productivity, better manage its human resources and utilise modern technology to best advantage.
The Government will continue to play its part in supporting the industry through a range of programmes and measures in the product development, marketing, training and human resource areas. I will be looking, in particular, to the new National Tourism Development Authority to bring forward new thinking to help the tourism sector to confront some of the new challenges which it faces.
Deputies will be also be aware that recovering competitiveness, both within the domestic economy and on the international stage, is central to the overall macroeconomic policy of sustaining non-inflationary economic growth and that a number of key actions have been identified in the current talks on a new social partnership agreement.
Given the general trends that have emerged over the past two tourism seasons, it was clear that the policies that served us well in the 1990s may not be the most appropriate for today, and that we had reached a point where it was time for a major review of tourism. With the approval of my colleagues in Government, and supported by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, I have appointed a tourism policy review group, including representatives from the private and public sectors and from within and outside the tourism industry to chart a new direction for Irish tourism.
As I indicated already in reply to the earlier priority question, the terms of reference for the review have been agreed by the group and can be made available to Deputies if they so wish. These will confirm that the issues of value for money, price competitiveness and sustainability, raised in this series of questions addressed to me today, will be covered in the review.