Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 7, 11 and 33 together.

The new Government fully recognises the significant role the tourism sector can play in Ireland's economic recovery. After a decline in overseas visitor numbers in each of the past three years, we are determined that, in working with the tourism agencies and the industry, 2011 will mark a turning point for the sector and that we see a return to growth in overseas visitor numbers and associated revenue. My colleague, Deputy Leo Varadkar in his capacity as Minister with designated responsibility for tourism, will take matters forward in the period ahead.

Tourism's importance was also reflected in the Good Friday Agreement, which identified tourism as an area for North-South co-operation on which the North-South Ministerial Council meets in sectoral format, with representation from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government. The council makes decisions on common policies and approaches in the area of tourism. It also takes decisions on policies and actions to be implemented by Tourism Ireland Ltd.

Tourism Ireland Limited is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a holiday destination overseas. It was established under the framework of the Good Friday Agreement and is jointly funded by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The last tourism sectoral meeting took place in February and noted Tourism Ireland's business plan for 2011, as well as its corporate plan for 2011-13, and discussed its marketing plans for the year. In addition, officials of the Department regularly meet their counterparts in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and officials from Tourism Ireland.

Tourism Ireland has set itself an ambitious target of growing overseas visitor numbers by up to 4% with associated revenue of up to 7.3% this year. To achieve these targets, Tourism Ireland has reviewed its marketing strategy and operations and is focussing on the four key markets that deliver three quarters of overseas visits — Great Britain, the United States, Germany and France.

A €28 million first-half tourism marketing drive is already under way. The campaign, which is the most intensive and targeted ever mounted by the organisation, focuses on value for money and a strong, positive brand image to help Ireland gain stand-out in overseas markets. The campaign kicked-off on St. Patrick's Day with the greening of icons such as the London Eye, the Moulin Rouge in Paris and Table Mountain in South Africa. The St. Patrick's Day programme reached more than 250 million potential visitors around the world, providing a truly invaluable boost for our overseas tourism drive.

Despite very challenging consumer sentiment in recent years, Great Britain remains our most important overseas market, with close to half of our overseas visitors coming from there. Given that it is such a large market and our nearest neighbour, it is critical to achieving overall growth that we see a return to growth in visits from Great Britain. With this in mind, Tourism Ireland has increased its marketing spend in Britain by 30% this year, to ensure a strong promotional presence on TV, radio, online and on social media throughout the year. I got a good overview of this work earlier this month when I attended St. Patrick's Day events in London with Tourism Ireland.

The forthcoming State visits to Ireland by President Obama and by Queen Elizabeth II will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland to a huge audience of potential holidaymakers in the US and Britain and across the globe. These visits have the potential to deliver a major boost to Irish tourism in 2011 and beyond. A large media contingent will travel to Ireland to cover the visits and the tourism agencies will put in place a comprehensive marketing campaign in Great Britain, the US and other markets to capitalise on this great opportunity.

In other initiatives to boost tourism this year, on the business tourism front, the new Convention Centre Dublin will be highlighted and will further enhance our capacity to attract international conferences and meetings. Significant events such as the Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle, the start of the Tall Ships Race Series in Waterford, Dublin Contemporary, Imagine Ireland, and the Europa Cup final at the Aviva Stadium will also provide significant opportunities to boost our international profile and the tourism agencies will work together to maximise the tourism benefits of these events. Clearly, no single body or organisation can ensure a return to growth in overseas tourism. However, I am confident that, working together, we can ensure that the message this year is that it is the time to visit Ireland can be clearly communicated to the markets, that visitors receive a warm welcome and go home to tell their friends and neighbours to come to Ireland and experience our unique offering.

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