Transport Committee Chairman calls for supports to ensure greater geographic spread of tourists

19 June 2014

The Committee yesterday met with representatives of Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to consider the performance of the tourism industry’s marketing strategies. The Committee were told that the industry had experienced a significant upturn in 2013 and in the first four months of 2014.

Fáilte Ireland is the National Tourism Development Authority tasked with guiding and promoting tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy. Meanwhile, Tourism Ireland is the agency responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a holiday destination overseas.

Chairman of the Committee John O’Mahony TD says: “Further growth in tourism would bring major economic benefits and help to sustain and create jobs in every corner of the country. The engagement with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland revealed very encouraging signs that our tourism industry is on course to reach the peak numbers achieved in 2007 in the coming years, should the upward trends continue. The hard work of both tourism agencies in innovative promotion and marketing that has led to this increase in numbers was widely commended.

“Undoubtedly, the ‘Gathering’ was the key factor in bringing about a significant increase in the tourist numbers in 2013. The grass-roots approach to the initiative, which gained buy-in from communities across the country, was widely acknowledged as instrumental in its success. The Committee were encouraged to hear that the Gathering does not appear to have pulled any business from the 2014 season, and that numbers for this year continue to grow.

“A number of Committee Members pointed to the relative strength of the Dublin market compared with rural areas. As indicated by Fáilte Ireland, tourism can provide the economic growth, revenue and jobs with a spatial and regional spread unlike most other sectors. The opening of the Wild Atlantic Way along our west coast is a prime example of the efforts being made toensure that the tourism potential of the regions is harnessed. Committee Members were keen to point out the huge untapped tourism potential in other rural areas and called for further efforts to ensure an appropriate geographic spread.

“The Committee is acutely aware that tourism is one of our most important indigenous industries, employing thousands of people around the country in rural and urban areas. These recent successes have also been driven by recovering our reputation as a value for money destination. In this regard Committee Members were particularly keen to guard against any complacency and remain vigilant on keeping business costs down.”

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Committee on Transport and Communications
Deputies: John O’Mahony (Chair), Paudie Coffey (Vice-Chair), Michael Colreavy, Timmy Dooley, Dessie Ellis, Tom Fleming, Brendan Griffin, Noel Harrington, Seán Kenny, Éamonn Maloney, Helen McEntee, Michael Moynihan, Patrick O’Donovan, Ann Phelan and Mick Wallace
Senators: Sean D. Barrett, Terry Brennan, Éamonn Coghlan, Paschal Mooney, Ned O’Sullivan and John Whelan