Before I speak to the motion, on a related tourism issue, I commend Ógra Fianna Fáil on the campaign it launched on holidaying at home. It has set up a website, holdayathome.ie, and is promoting all the towns and counties in Ireland as destinations for holidaying at home. It has issued a postcard and has a poster campaign. I commend it on the campaign. It is only right that is said here.

I welcome the opportunity to voice my concerns about, and support for, the tourism industry through Private Members' Business this evening. I commend the Labour Party on bringing forward its motion, hence bringing the importance of tourism into focus here this evening. I concur with the sentiments expressed yesterday evening by the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, in that this industry will rise to the challenges and come out of this downturn even stronger than before. In recent times, with the good weather there are signs of that, particularly with the idea of holidaying at home.

Tourism is something about which I am passionate. It is an industry that affects every small village and town in rural Ireland, every one of which is going through difficulty at present. We have a great deal to offer as a country in terms of tourism. We have a most stunning landscape, not least in my home county of Donegal. We have unspoilt beaches and amenities. We have a rugged coastline offering breathtaking views. We have all the natural beauty for which any tourist could yearn. We must ensure now more than ever that we are competitive in order to remain successful.

Naturally, our tourism industry is being affected by the domestic economic situation but it must be realised that much of the tourism comes from external markets that are experiencing similar economic difficulties. Tourism figures are down all over Europe and the US. The number of overseas visitors to Ireland declined by almost 12% in 2009, which is difficult for the industry to endure. However, according to recent reports, particularly the OECD report, Malta, Hungary, Cyprus, Greece and Finland have experienced higher reductions in visitor numbers, and France, Portugal and Spain have experienced reductions of between 8% and 12%. To further compound the frustration being felt by the industry, the first quarter of this year saw very difficult weather conditions, as mentioned earlier. The eruption of the volcano in Iceland, in particular, compounded travel restrictions.

On a more positive note, more than 60% of our overseas visitors normally come between May and September. Tourism Ireland has been hard at work overseas selling the Ireland brand. As others mentioned earlier, the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, launched a €20 million summer marketing campaign on behalf of Tourism Ireland, which targets our key markets, such as the UK, the US and Germany, to attract as much business as possible during the peak season. Fáilte Ireland is continuously working with the industry to engage the Irish holidaymaker with attractive and accessible offers, highlighting the value and quality available in the country. I welcome the bed and breakfast accommodation revitalisation programme which is being rolled out by Fáilte Ireland, a tourism feature that is unique to Ireland.

I sense that many more Irish people intend to holiday at home this year, and this trend must be captured and encouraged by the industry. Having holidayed at home for the past couple of years given that I have a young family, I concur with the sentiments expressed by some of my Mayo colleagues. I have been there recently, and there is certainly good bang for your buck in Wesport at present.

Many overlook the inherent beauty of our country and the natural assets that are being utilised for the benefit of the tourist. Those involved in the industry should be competitive in terms of value; tourists will appreciate it and it will pay us dividends in the future. We priced ourselves out of the market in terms of tourism. Unfortunately, we were too expensive, but I think we are turning that around.

Our welcoming and friendly nature is widely recognised throughout the world and is something that should be encouraged. It is one of our strong assets. More can be done by communities to market themselves as a destination. Too often, individual amenities do a solo run in terms of marketing which does little to encourage tourists into an area. The general actions of a tourist in this modern era is to research their destination on the web. It is important that complete sources of information on various geographical areas are available on the web to make research simple. Each amenity in any area should be viewed as complimenting each other rather than in competition with each other. I would consider this a simple measure easily enforced by any community, and one that can make a difference.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on taking the step to chair the new renewal implementation group which is to be established to ensure the recommendations of the renewal group are implemented. This Government has put tourism to the top of the agenda and will continue to do so, and I support the amendment to the motion.

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