John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy will be aware, tourism was identified in the Good Friday Agreement as an area of co-operation. With the establishment of Tourism Ireland as a North-South body responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, we now have a shining example of the tangible benefits to be achieved from closer, more structured collaboration on this island.

I have just returned from a tourism promotional visit to London where I attended the Irish stand at the world travel market. I addressed a major reception organised by Tourism Ireland for the trade and media attending this prestigious exhibition. This event brings into very sharp focus the level and intensity of the competition in the global tourism market and I pay tribute to the professionalism of Tourism Ireland which, once again, mounted an Irish stand which was simply top class and captured the very best of what this island has to offer the international visitor.

In December, I will participate at the official launch of a new suite of advertising and promotional materials for Tourism Brand Ireland. This event will be the culmination of many months work by Tourism Ireland in researching and developing a new destination campaign for Ireland's overseas markets, which seeks to further tap the potential of our key tourism markets. I am confident that this new campaign will build on the two previous incarnations of Tourism Brand Ireland and will assist in delivering the ambitious targets for tourism growth set in the New Horizons report.

North-South co-operation on tourism exists on a less formal basis in areas such as education and training, product marketing and publicity, tourism statistics and research, e-business and e-marketing and accommodation standards. A variety of initiatives are being developed and pursued by the tourism agencies across these areas to deepen the level of co-operation that already exists. In October last, I launched two significant cross-Border tourism initiatives which would be of particular interest to the Deputy, the Destination North West and Glens and Lakelands projects. These projects are being supported to the tune of more than €2 million in EU and Exchequer funds, including funding from the three tourism agencies on the island. These initiatives will aim to highlight the incredible variety of the tourism product available in the north west. They also represent a significant achievement in terms of cross-Border co-operation as they bring together a diverse group of organisations, including North West Tourism, Derry City Council and Fermanagh District Council, as well as Causeway Coast Regional Tourist Organisation.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board have long recognised the value and basic common sense behind all-island co-operation in this sector. Through their actions, they have consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to the all-island approach. Significant work is under way todevelop an all-island e-marketing strategy which will ensure that the ever-increasing number of visitors who use the Internet to make their holiday plans can tap into all the information they need on the island of Ireland via one website. The three agencies are working closely on this initiative which I expect will come to fruition early in 2006.

As the Deputy will know, access is a key driver of tourism growth and I am glad that the promotion of City of Derry Airport is supported by a cross-Border grouping which includes Fáilte Ireland, NITB, Derry City Council and Donegal County Council. A key focus of Tourism Ireland's work is to act as strategic partner to, and engage in co-operative marketing programmes with, air and sea carriers. It has intensified this work in 2005 and is actively working with carriers and airports to maximise awareness of existing routes and secure additional route developments. It is also working closely with regional airports, North and South, to ensure we achieve the best possible regional spread when carriers are considering introducing new routes and services. What is encouraging in this regard is that there are now some 42 flights coming into City of Derry Airport each week from five different UK airports.

These are just some examples of the variety of North-South initiatives under way to develop tourism on this island. At this point, the all-island approach to tourism development is simply an integral part of the way the agencies operate. For my part, I am fully committed to the development of North-South co-operation at all levels and I am ready to support any new opportunities that may emerge in this regard in the future.

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