Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. As has been said, 2017 was the best year ever for tourism, with record numbers of visitors and expenditure. They followed the previous records in 2016 and 2015. In fact, tourist numbers and expenditure have grown every year since 2012. Last year, excluding fares, foreign tourists delivered expenditure of €1,021 for each man, woman and child in the economy. Total employment in tourism is estimated to be in the region of 235,000, while wages in the sector have increased by 11% in the past five years, compared to an increase of 7% in the economy as a whole. This is reflected in institutions such as Athlone Institute of Technology which has a thriving hospitality department which offers a diploma in restaurant management, an advanced certificate in professional cooking and a bachelor of arts degree in hotel and leisure management. This has significance for the country and did not happen by accident. Following the change of Government in 2011, tourism was set as a priority area for growth and plans and initiatives were put in place to bring this about. Tourism is a native industry and growth in tourism leads to a direct and immediate growth in employment. For a number of years before this, the Fianna Fáil Government had taken its eye off the ball. While chasing after the builders and bankers, it let tourism numbers decline year on year. The Fine Gael-led Government in May 2011 introduced a jobs initiative which included a reduced VAT rate for the hospitality sector. This decision to focus on employment and on tourism as a driver has marked a turnaround in jobs and in tourist numbers which has continued to this day. Hoteliers, particularly in the larger cities, must respect this VAT rate they have been given when it comes to the price of hotel rooms.

We should not forget, of course, the importance of proper marketing in growing tourist numbers. Initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way and The Gathering of 2013, both introduced by the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, have played a huge part in the recovery of tourism and the economy in general. With this success, we must focus on ensuring that the annually increasing numbers of tourists get to see more than just Dublin and the west coast, and that they are led to other parts of the island where there is also much to offer.

Marketing is important at a local level also. When I was elected mayor of Athlone in 2013, I outlined a vision that I had for my town, including the concept of Destination Athlone, which has been very successful in putting the town on the map. It is now without doubt the beating heart of Ireland's Hidden Heartlands. Athlone is positioned between Dublin and Galway and acts as a gateway to the west and north west. We are at a meeting point for road, river, rail and greenway, and for counties and provinces. We have a social and cultural infrastructure unrivalled in the region. We can claim to be the original source of whiskey and we are fast becoming one of Ireland's food capitals. Those familiar with Athlone will know the left bank area around Athlone Castle which is thriving with pubs and restaurants. My latest initiative is to extend this further by rejuvenating the west side of Athlone and making it a cultural and tourist quarter that can rival any.

There is no shortage of opportunity for further development of tourism in Ireland. We must ensure that we are not limited by lack of imagination or sidetracked by naysayers. There are plenty of people who mocked The Gathering and the concept of the Wild Atlantic Way, but there is nobody who can honestly argue against their success in driving Ireland as a tourist destination and playing a major part in rebuilding our economy. Let us all support those who are positive and let us work with the dreamers. It is through positivity and vision that we can grow this sector further and spread it out more evenly, whether that is at a national level or in my native Athlone, which everybody knows to be the centre of the universe.