Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was a great experience for me to attend my first meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in tourism sectoral format. In particular, I was pleasantly surprised at the way in which participants worked so closely together. Both North and South, we are all aware of the importance of tourism to the island as a whole. We spoke about upcoming major events in the sector, including The Gathering, the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast next year and Derry's designation as the United Kingdom's city of culture for 2013. We also discussed the efforts being made to win back some of the British market. Despite a very successful 2012 in general, the reduction in the number of British visitors represented a weak link, particularly given that it is the most important market for both North and South. In addition, we discussed the business programme to be put in place for next year, which will include an aggressive marketing campaign in Britain to win back some of the visitors we have lost in recent years.

The most pleasant aspect of this discussion was the evidence of how well we are all working together, the common denominator being our desire to attract people to the island as a whole. I was delighted to have the opportunity to engage in discussions with the Deputy's colleague, Ms Ní Chuilín. I have invited both Minister, Ms Ní Chuilín and Ms Foster, to participate in the major tourism conference that will take place from 7 to 9 March, inclusive, during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. We hope to assist them in any way we can, and vice versa, in meeting our joint objective of attracting visitors to the island.

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