Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2017
521. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the grave uncertainty regarding Brexit is impacting negatively on the hotel and hospitality sectors; the steps he will take to address these impacts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22954/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing what was a record year for overseas visitors to Ireland in 2016, figures published by the CSO showed that overseas visitors for the period February to April 2017 were slightly up (+0.1%) on the same period in 2016. Whilst there was strong growth from the North American market, up by over 25%, visitors from Britain were down 10.7% year on year. It is clear that the Sterling depreciation following the Brexit referendum has made Ireland, and every other Eurozone country, more expensive for British travellers than was the case previously. This has led some British holidaymakers to holiday at home this year.
In 2016, Irish hotels performed well with the number of bednights up 6.6%. Recent CSO data indicates that hotel bednights in the first quarter of 2017 were in line with 2016. Whilst the number of visitors from Britain staying in hotels is down, this has been offset by increases from other areas. I am conscious that certain regions may feel a greater impact from the drop in British visitors.
The tourism agencies are engaged in the operational aspects of preparing for Brexit. Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing Ireland as a tourism destination overseas. In broad terms, its strategy involves two main elements. Firstly, it has taken steps to revise its marketing effort in Britain to make it more relevant in a Brexit environment. As well as this, it is implementing a market diversification strategy. This aims to attract more visitors from markets which deliver longer stays and, therefore, higher revenue returns. The significant increase in visitors from North America in early 2017 is evidence of this.
For its part, Fáilte Ireland is also working on a number of fronts to assist the diversification and development of our tourism industry and the attractiveness of our tourism product offering. Ongoing work to develop the main experience brands and enhance visitor experiences is aimed at boosting our appeal to key target markets and priority consumer segments. With regard to training and business supports, Fáilte Ireland offers a suite of supports to enhance the competitiveness, enterprise capability and sustainability of the tourism sector. In addition, it is creating a new Brexit Response Programme that will focus on delivering a Capability Building programme for Industry.
