Mr. Tim Fenn:

Regarding China, the new common area visa arrangement with Great Britain will open up new opportunities for long-haul visitors. The President's visit to China last week was a great boost. We are coming from a very low base, but when the Chinese people travel they spend quite a lot of money, not only in hotels and restaurants but also in retail. There are a lot of additional benefits right across the board for that type of business, so we are very supportive of it.

If I can make one last comment on room rates. There was a time when the rate for a hotel bedroom was the Fáilte Ireland rate displayed on the back of the door. Those rates still exist on the back of the door and they are the maximum rates that the hotel can charge. The business model has changed in that if a hotel bedroom is not sold today, tomorrow will be too late. People price the rooms accordingly, so that they will sell. They drop the price to make sure people will use the rooms. As the rooms fill up, the price firms up. It rarely ever gets to the old Fáilte Ireland rate on the back of the door. The bigger the event the bigger the concept of what is going on in the destination. In other words, price is only one piece of the value-for-money proposition. If people are going to Dublin on a quiet weekend and paying exorbitant rates, they might feel a bit sore about that, but if they are going to London to see a big match and the whole city is full, they will know what prices are like then. It is a different concept as to what customers are doing with their time and money.