Vol. 560 No. 2
14 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the projected influx of tourists for 2003; the steps he is taking to attract visitors to Ireland in 2003; the amount of Exchequer funding which has been allocated to the tourist bodies for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2042/03]
17 Ms Lynch asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of tourists who visited Ireland in 2002; the way in which this compared with the previous year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2039/03]
18 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his plans to boost visitor numbers to Ireland for 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2037/03]
61 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the policy initiatives he proposes to augment the tourist industry in 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2241/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 17, 18 and 61 together.
Last December, I launched Tourism Ireland's and Bord Fáilte's joint marketing plans for 2003. These plans set out a comprehensive and vigorous programme of activities designed to attract over 7.5 million visitors to the island of Ireland this year. This is a very ambitious target. If achieved, it would represent a 5% increase on the estimated visitor outturn for 2002 and mark a return to the record tourist numbers of 2000. These targets are predicated on various assumptions particularly in relation to the US where the restoration of key access routes and a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi situation are paramount to achieving growth in this market.
To financially underpin these marketing programmes, I am happy to point out that, in a period of restraint in our public finances, I have managed to secure an additional €5 million for tourism marketing in my Department's Estimates provision for 2003. This brings the overall Exchequer investment in frontline marketing activities to €48 million.
As the Deputies will be aware, Tourism Ireland is a North-South body charged with the international marketing of the island of Ireland as a top class tourism destination. Tourism Ireland has devised a highly focused set of marketing campaigns in the markets which represent the best tourism prospects in 2003. The key markets this year will be Great Britain, USA, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia and Canada.
Bord Fáilte has also developed a set of special marketing initiatives for 2003 which will focus on promoting specific tourism products, sports tourism, festivals and cultural events and domestic tourism business. Both bodies have worked together in the development of their marketing programmes to ensure a cohesive and seamless strategy to attract quality tourism business to Ireland this year.
Thankfully, the doom and gloom scenarios, which were widely predicted over the course of last year, have not materialised. While we may not achieve the record heights of the year 2000, the best available forecasts for 2002 show a moderate recovery – possibly up to 2% – in visitor numbers. In a difficult market, this is very encouraging.
It must also be said that not everyone is gaining and different sectors of the industry are doing better than others. In many ways, the tourism industry is at a crossroads – after almost a decade of continuous growth – the proverbial bubble almost burst in 2001. By its very nature, the sector will always be vulnerable to external shocks – unrest in the Middle East will feature highly among the potential threats in 2003.
16 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of bookings for self-catering holidays in 2003; if he will allocate more resources towards marketing this sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2051/03]
As Minister with responsibility for tourism my role lies primarily in the area of development of national tourism policy. I have no direct function in the marketing of a specific product, region or sector, and responsibility for such matters lies with the tourism State agencies which operate under the aegis of my Department.
The number of bookings within the self-catering sector is derived and quantified by the sector itself. The tourism State agencies receive this information in the form of market intelligence and I have no function with regard to it.
