Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his continuing success in his portfolio. For decades tourism has been a crucial element in our economic and social development, both nationally and regionally, and above any other industry it has very far-reaching effects on society, as it benefits so many who are involved in it. Therefore, it must be a top priority for the Government at all times.

Like many other visitor destinations, the Irish tourism industry suffered a severe blow during the global recession. The past few years, however, have seen the industry vigorously bounce back with figures continuing to grow exponentially year on year. Undoubtedly, as alluded to by other Senators, The Gathering initiative in 2013 was the ideal catalyst to stimulate the revival of the industry. However, credit must be given to further Government initiatives, as other Senators mentioned, such as retaining the 9% VAT rate, for which I strongly campaigned, and the Wild Atlantic Way and other initiatives, which Senators mentioned. These have greatly helped to build on this success to help further grow visitor figures by 8.9% in 2014. New initiatives such as Ancient East should be commended, as should the Tourism Policy Statement, People, Place and Policy - Growing Tourism to 2025.

Taking all this into account, however, I believe more can be done to further grow our tourism industry. We should make it our priority to capitalise on our recent success and aim to be a destination of the first choice for high quality, value for money and memorable visitor experience. Global level tourism is changing and, as such, we must strive to stay ahead of the game. Destinations are reinventing themselves, moving upmarket and offering memorable holiday experiences. Consumers are moving from having one holiday to several shorter city breaks and many are sourced over the Internet. There is increased demand for breaks linked to health, meaning there is more demand for activity or adventure breaks, as Senator Mary Ann O'Brien mentioned, and spa breaks. There is also far more demand for environmental, historical and cultural experiences within a unique and authentic experience. According to research conducted recently in Scotland, for many visitors, especially from North America, the authentic experience matters more than the destination. Senator Quinn mentioned the agriturismoproduct in Italy. We have so many things that could be promoted in this way and they are hugely authentic and add to people's experience. People already want to come to Ireland as a destination. That we can back-up the authentic experience in this country is something on which we should capitalise. Senator Mary Ann O'Brien mentioned heritage and I agree wholeheartedly with her comments on that.

As such, we must strive to increase the cultural experience.We should be shouting from the rooftops that Newgrange is older than both the pyramids and Stonehenge, for example. Meanwhile, lest we forget, our natural larder is one of Ireland's distinctive assets, providing a range of high-quality products such as whiskey, salmon and other seafood, all of which can add to our visitor offerings. Our eating-out experience needs to meet visitor expectations, whether it is fine dining, family meals at visitor attractions or food on the go for mountain bikers. We need to do much more to consistently reflect the quality and authenticity of our food and drink experience within tourism.

On the subject of sports tourism, I am aware that Fáilte Ireland has an overall strategy to attract sports enthusiasts, and this includes events such as the Giro d'Italia, American football games and the bid for the Rugby World Cup. A separate national golf tourism strategy similar to that of Scotland would be a good idea to attract even higher figures from this lucrative and high-spending global market. Scotland currently markets itself as the home of golf and has launched a national golf tourism strategy. It is fair to say, with the unprecedented success of Rory McIlroy and others, that we could equally claim to be the home of golf, and we should look to capitalise on this success. This strategy could work along the lines of a proposition drawing the full golf experience together under a single global brand aimed at capitalising on the existing and potential demand for golf in Ireland. Moreover, we need to boost our marketing capabilities in adventure tourism, particularly in international markets, alongside further investments in product development, skills and training.

Marine tourism is another area in which more could be done. Steps could be taken to help this sector grow through enhanced leadership and collaboration, with a focus on product development and active targeting of the valuable European market. We should also review the burden of potential Government legislation with regard to the tourism industry. Reviewing legislative or regulatory burdens on tourism businesses would assist more entrepreneurial activity in the area, and consultation with the industry on proposed legislation is vital in this respect. One example of European legislation that will come into effect - an agreement has been reached this week - relates to roaming charges for mobile phones. That will have a major effect on business but a massively positive effect on tourism. It shows how legislation can lead to an increase in tourism.

We also need to increase our attractiveness to long-haul visitors, such as those from China. Senator Quinn has already spoken about this and I agree with his comments about visas and the Schengen issue. I note that a campaign by VisitBritain to promote its tourism potential in China has proved extremely successful. In China, it is popular to give names to favourite celebrities, places and foods that describe what people think of them. As part of its Great Names for Great Britain campaign, carried out on social media last year, 101 of Britain's most loved attractions, as well as a range of lesser-known places, were renamed in Mandarin. People made suggestions through a micro-site on social media with the aim of getting others to travel to Britain. Examples of the names included the Highland games being renamed as "strong-man skirt party". The Mandarin names have promoted engagement between the British and Chinese populations and encouraged much more tourism. Our different boards are very good at trying to come up with novel ideas, but we can learn from other countries too.