Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I am sharing time with Deputy Michelle Mulherin. I add my good wishes to the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, in his new job. I cannot think of anyone more suited to this job through geography, experience and inclination. It will be an extremely important job in restoring the fortunes of the economy.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, and the opportunity it affords to debate the industry, which has always been important to Ireland. In recent times and for the foreseeable future, it assumes an even greater importance because it has been identified as one of the industries with the potential to drive the domestic recovery. It has the potential to create high levels employment and to bring jobs not just to Dublin and the cities, but to every town and village in the country.

I am happy to support the raising of the cap placed on capital spending in the 2003 Act, from €65 million to €150 million. It is vital, even in difficult times, not only to continue to upgrade existing facilities, but also to invest in new ones. Demand in this industry is constantly changing. People's tastes are changing and we need new products. Tourism products become very tired if they are not constantly renewed and we would find it increasingly difficult to compete with other non-sun destinations if we did not continually refresh what we have on offer.

I listened with interest to what Deputy Catherine Murphy had to say because I was going to mention the need for investment in our cultural institutions. I realise they do not come under this particular tranche of money but we really need to restore and improve the buildings that house our national cultural institutions. Little was done in this regard during the Celtic tiger years, and the National Archives is one those institutions that comes to mind immediately. It is such an important area for genealogical tourism, which is a major growth area. It is particularly significant in a country that has had wave after wave of emigration, but the National Archives building is in a woeful state. It is a tribute to the dedicated specialist staff there that they are able to maintain access to so many of our archives. That access has been increased enormously by the digitisation of records and I understand that the process of digitisation, which will make things more available to people, is continuing. If the Minister of State does find the money or the NAMA building that was mentioned which could house the archives, I would recommend it be considered as a priority for the Government.

A second priority is the National Library. I mention these two institutions because their material is degrading as a result of not having the proper conditions for storage. Whatever about the tourists, let us ensure we do not let it degrade any further.

Probably the most important area for capital investment is in e-tourism. No matter how wonderful and imaginative a product is, if it is not on the web, it does not exist for the majority of people, especially those outside Ireland. This means we must invest in high quality nationwide broadband, which would facilitate marketing, booking and buying over the Internet. I know that great progress has been made by Fáilte Ireland in facilitating and training in e-marketing, but we cannot take our foot off the pedal if we are to compete. Internet capability must be available to all players, from the smallest bed and breakfast establishment to the largest facility in the country. Technology must also be made available and used to improve access to the tourism product because if one's product is not on the shelf, it cannot be bought. The Internet is the most important shelf as far as tourism is concerned and everyone knows it is the main source of information on holiday destinations, hotels and so forth. Even those who want to go away for one night do not telephone Bord Fáilte or another tourism body but check the Internet, perhaps via an app.

Since the collapse of tourism in the middle of the last decade Fáilte Ireland has targeted its marketing efforts at our traditional markets, the very markets which dried up when the Celtic tiger died. I have questioned the decision to concentrate exclusively on these markets. While Britain and the United States will always be important, other countries on which we have not focused marketing efforts show greater potential for growth. I refer specifically to the new European Union member states from which we do not have many tourists, despite a significant number of air connections. We must target our tourism efforts at cities with which we have good air links. Unlike Thailand or Australia, people do not tend to visit Ireland for three weeks or one month but come instead for a few days and, in many cases, only a weekend. Our tourist catchment area is those areas that have ready access to an air link to Ireland. Given that no one will take two flights to travel abroad for a weekend or three or four days, our tourism marketing efforts should be targeted at cities with air links to this country.

We must also focus our efforts on trying to maintain current air links. In this respect, I am pleased the Government chose to link tourism and transport in one Department, as I had strongly recommended. Until now, there has been a disconnect between tourism and transport. It is pointless to market Ireland as a tourist destination in European towns and cities with which we do not have an air link.

I welcome the reduction in the travel tax and introduction of the Dublin Airport incentive scheme to encourage the opening of new routes. We will not know whether the scheme is working until the beginning of next year. I ask the Minister to monitor the effectiveness of the incentives in place and, if necessary, revise and re-target them to ensure they increase passenger numbers and encourage the opening of new routes.

I am pleased Fáilte Ireland is adopting a destination management approach. The future of tourism lies in this area and Fáilte Ireland needs to go further in this regard. The role of State bodies must be to co-ordinate and integrate the provision of accommodation and access to facilities, whether small or large, local or national, cultural, recreational, sports or heritage in nature. They must ensure all facilities are co-operating at local level to avail of the synergies of proximity. For instance, local hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation providers should provide transport to the starting point of planned walks, which are increasing in number. I welcome, for example, the recent opening of one such walk in the Minister of State's constituency. Visitors must be able to reach the starting points of walks because most of those who come here on a walking holiday do not arrive by car. They also need to be collected and such services must be provided locally.

Walking holidays offer major potential as walks do not require good weather and walking routes require only minimal capital investment. In many cases, local authorities and Coillte have already provided all that is required. However, most walks are isolated and on their own do not justify someone travelling from abroad. The way forward is to connect walks and market them to potential tourists as a national or regional package and easily accessible. Fáilte Ireland, as the over-arching tourism body, should bring together diverse providers to produce an infinitely superior product than can be provided by one individual player. No other body is in a position to do this job.

Country houses and gardens are another area for which one does not need a wonderful climate and that is experiencing growth in Europe and globally. It is difficult for individual private operators to attract tourists. Marketing every country house with a nice garden separately would entail considerable duplication. To maximise growth in this area Fáilte Ireland should market holiday packages and ensure tourists can move with great ease from one country house or garden to another.

I welcomed the establishment of a cultural and heritage tourism group in the dying days of the previous Government to connect State agencies and tour operators bringing people into the country in numbers. Tours are an important area of tourism which has significant growth potential. Until now, the services and products provided by the Office of Public Works and other organisations have not been matched up with what tourists want. I understand a meeting of this group has been arranged. I ask the Minister to ensure the group continues with this important initiative.

In these difficult times, when there is little money available, we must examine everything we do to ascertain if we can do it better. I have strong views on the proliferation of bodies which duplicate each other's work and deliver their services in a less effective manner than would a single body. I am not convinced it is necessary to have two separate tourism bodies, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Many local bodies should share over-arching jobs such as marketing and sales and collaborate rather than compete with one another to improve effectiveness. While the various State agencies at national, regional, county and local level are all worthy and do good work, their value is diminished by the lack of a more cohesive approach.

It is great that tourism numbers have turned around and are heading in the right direction for the first time in a number of years. This development is a vindication of the Government's policy of recognising the need to reduce costs in tourism and other industries. Measures to change wage setting mechanisms, reduce VAT and employers' PRSI are beginning to pay off. Tourism has been correctly identified as a growth industry. It is a sector in which Ireland has a natural advantage and, as an export service, it is a foreign currency earner. The growing middle classes of the emerging economies offer considerable potential. For this reason, I welcome measures to make it easier to obtain a visa to visit this country, as the difficulty in securing a visa acts as a significant deterrent for people from emerging economies such as China who wish to visit here.

I support the measures in the Bill and extend my best wishes to the Minister.

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