Mr. Peter Nash:

We thank the committee for the opportunity to address it today. I am head of strategic development at Tourism Ireland and I am here to represent our chief executive, Mr. Niall Gibbons, who was unavoidably unable to attend today. I am joined by Ms Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland's overseas manager for The Gathering Ireland 2013, who will update the committee on that project.

As members know, Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, having been established as one of the six areas of co-operation under the framework of the Good Friday Agreement. Our role is to encourage overseas leisure and business tourists to choose the island of Ireland for their trip rather than travelling to any of over 200 destinations competing for attention. Tourism is one of Ireland's largest indigenous industries, generating revenues of over €5 billion, which is approximately 4% of our gross national product. Overseas tourism accounts for almost 60% of this revenue.

The year, 2012, was positive for overseas tourism and despite the continuing economic challenges in many of our key markets, we welcomed approximately 7.3 million overseas visitors, which was an increase of 5% on the previous year and 6% in the revenue generated within the sector. The overall sentiment for travel to the island of Ireland this year is largely positive and a very encouraging early start to the season. The most recent Central Statistics Office figures for overseas travel to the Republic of Ireland indicate growth of more than 6% up to the end of May, with growth recorded from all the major market areas. Considering a more detailed analysis of overseas tourism performance for the first quarter of the year, there is very good growth in holidaymakers, whose numbers were up by nearly 20%, and in overseas tourism revenue, which is up by approximately 12%. However, it is important to point out that not all tourism businesses across the island have been sharing equally in this return to growth.

Certain overseas markets are performing particularly well now, with Australia and other long-haul markets, including India and China, looking set for another record year in 2013. North America is on course to deliver its strongest performance ever, with over 1 million visitors expected from the United States this year. We expect these visitors will spend approximately $1 billion while on the island of Ireland.