Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is giving us an opportunity today to influence the Government's new tourism action plan. The policy document has been immensely interesting to read, especially for somebody like me who grew up in the tourist business. My father opened Red Island Holiday Camp in Skerries in 1947, just after the war. My family was in the business at a time when tourism was not a big thing and there was, in particular, no enthusiasm for the types of holidaymakers we were accommodating. The tourist board at the time was focused on promoting hunting, fishing and golfing, and encouraging the types of tourists who came to us was not really supported. My father decided to operate on the boomerang principle, which was based on getting the customer to come back. That principle offers an amazingly powerful tool. We should focus on encouraging everybody in the tourist business in Ireland to remember that their main job is not to get as much money as they can out of tourists but to give those tourists the type of experience that will see them returning on a regular basis. In fairness, that is already happening to a large extent.

I welcome the Government report, which contains a number of very good measures to grow the industry. The maintenance of the 9% VAT rate will depend on the sector ensuring it remains cost-competitive. I really hope that crucial measure is maintained. It would be much more useful if the Government would give a commitment to retaining the rate until at least a certain date, say the end of 2016, to provide more stability for businesses.

I hope the Member will take on board the suggestions offered by Senators today for growing the tourism industry. I will now outline the proposals I have for meeting that objective.I note that there is only one mention of the Schengen regime in the report, while there are only three mentions of China in it. The report states:

Given that the UK is likely to remain outside the Schengen area, it is unrealistic to consider that Ireland would become a member of Schengen as that would require the re-introduction of border controls between [here and Northern Ireland]. Therefore, the goal is to continue to work to maximise the efficiencies that can be gained in the processing of visas for visitors for whom a visa is required to enter Ireland and the UK.

That is the elephant in the room. We all know that Chinese visitors are the fastest-growing market - we heard it mentioned today - and this will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future. There is a fascinating estimate that more than 100 million Chinese tourists will spend nearly $200 billion this year around the world - far more than Americans and Germans. We are suffering massively because of the Schengen Agreement: the United Kingdom gets only one ninth of the number of Chinese tourists that France gets. We need to have a debate on Schengen. We are missing out on hundreds of millions of euros and thousands of jobs in the tourist sector because of Schengen. We can do something in this area. I am not quite sure where one would start, but it is necessary to do so.

We should also be considering what the Italians have done in the past few years. The Italian foreign Ministry opened up several mobile offices in China which were able to issue visas. Therefore, visas were issued not only at the Italian embassy in Beijing and its consulate in Shanghai, but throughout China. Thanks to this strategy, the number of tourists from China to Italy grew by 100% in the summer of 2011. Can we follow this example and enable such tourists to come here? I would like to see if the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade could open up mobile visa offices in select locations in China. For a small investment, the reward from countries such as China could be significant. We should examine the idea.

Another great idea is from the United States, which interviews Chinese visa applicants online and allows them to pick up their visas at any of 900 bank branches rather than at a US embassy. That is a great idea to make it easier for tourists to visit, which we should consider implementing. Thanks to that scheme, the United States saw a 22% increase in Chinese visitors last year. Perhaps such a provision should have been included in section 5.2 of the report. I would like to see the Government examine the potential for such a scheme to be implemented here.

I note that section 1 of the report is the only part that makes reference to support for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. There is a lot more to be done here. In particular, the Irish language means that towns and cities here can be different from towns in the United Kingdom or America. If we can encourage use of the Irish language, it will enable us to differentiate our towns so that visitors coming here do not feel that they are coming to the United Kingdom.

Rural tourism is another area. I had the opportunity, when I was 19 years of age, to be involved in an organisation called Comhar Taisteal. Comhar Taisteal was a travel co-operative. At the time, it made a deal with CIE that families could travel to west Cork and stay on farms. We made all those arrangements. I went down to west Cork and arranged a lot of that. The idea was that for a small sum they could travel there and be looked after by the farmers. City dwellers had a chance to stay on farms and experience part of the rural tradition. There is an opportunity to do something similar. This idea is also from Italy, where the concept is known as agriturismoand has worked very well. It is the basic idea of a small farm offering accommodation and a unique experience to a tourist. It could be a small cheese-making farm with a few beds, and tourists are willing to pay a premium for the experience. What they have found in Italy is that this sort of rural tourism it is extremely lucrative. Such tourists are willing to pay three to four times more for this sort of unique and authentic experience. Imagine the potential for rural areas in Ireland. I note that Senator Healy Eames spoke about what could be done in rural areas. These agriturismofarms get support at both national and EU levels. We should be examining this model here, and perhaps the agriturismoidea from Italy might fit in well. There are so many farms here that could offer the authentic Irish farm experience and a bed where tourists can experience something different, and even help out on the farm. We all did so, certainly in my day. We did not go away to hotels on holidays; instead, we went to our cousins down the country, and it was a real experience. We could almost do the same again. If it is done successfully in one part of the country, it could provide a national model. We do not have anything similar to the Italian agriturismohere, and the Government should look closely at it, as it attracts exactly the sort of high-margin tourists that the Minister wants to attract. On another similar note, the agriturismomodel in Italy has been found to fuel exports of high-margin agrifood products. I look forward to hearing the Minister's views on this idea and some of the others.

I note that Doolin was mentioned by Senator Ó Murchú. In Doolin, there are two competing ferries going out to the Aran Islands. One of the companies involved has now come to Dún Laoghaire and Howth and runs one of its Doolin boats from Dún Laoghaire to Howth twice a day. The idea is wonderful. I note the number of people coming to Howth to do this. One goes out to Howth and gets on the boat to Dún Laoghaire, and included in the fare, at a cost of €1, is the return trip by DART, so that if one has come to Howth one can end up back in Howth and the fare is reasonable. This is the sort of initiative that is taking place. That one came from Doolin, but the model is now capable of being transferred right around the country.

I am delighted that the Minister has come to the House today and given us an opportunity to debate and influence policy in the future.