This is particularly significant in light of the tourism situation worldwide. While a number of factors have helped to grow the tourism industry globally, the advent of cheaper and more widely available transport and the increase in economic wealth and available leisure time being just two, it has been noticeable that Ireland has continued to out-perform other countries in attracting tourists and tourism revenue. Throughout the 1990s, visitor numbers to Ireland grew by over 7% on average each year. This compares to a global figure of 4.3%. It is clear that we have been doing something right. We also managed to exceed European and global growth rates in terms of receipts in the 11 years up to 2001.