Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister repeatedly claps himself on the back for the increase in tourist numbers from regions other than the United Kingdom. It seems that all is well because other regions will make up for the decline in tourist numbers from the UK. However, Britain accounts for 42% of visitors to Ireland and the number of UK visitors decreased by 7% in the first six months of this year. This is a very serious development because people from the UK tend to visit parts of Ireland that are not holiday hot spots, as it were. What exactly does the Minister propose to do to mitigate against the effects of this substantial decline in tourists from Britain? When the Brexit result became known, the Minister indicated it would not have any impact on the tourism industry. Unfortunately, it is having a major impact on tourism, as the figures published this week indicate.

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