Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The tourism marketing fund is used to pay for Tourism Ireland's destination marketing overseas and for Fáilte Ireland's niche product marketing. Tourism Ireland delivers marketing programmes in 21 markets throughout the world and reaches a global audience of more than 600 million each year. The agency is doing incredible work and I have witnessed that in two missions I have undertaken, to the United States and, recently, to Dubai. The work it is doing to sell our island as a destination at a time when that is so badly needed is incredible, not least because of the time and commitment that is given to it. As an example of where the money goes, targeting market activity includes advertising online, on television, at outdoor sites, in cinemas, newspapers and magazines and through e-marketing, overseas publicity and co-operative marketing with carriers, other partners and promotions. I have heard from the main tour operators to which they are trying to sell Ireland that at a time of absolute devastation in those early days of the pandemic, it was Tourism Ireland that reached out to the tour operators when others did not, and kept that relationship really special and valued. They linked in with them and that is what is being remembered as tourism reopens. That is all down to the incredible work Tourism Ireland does.