Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Lombard and the Members of this House for giving me for an opportunity to address this matter today on behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. I believe anybody could stand up here, as Senator Lombard has done, and talk about what we have to offer in their own part of Ireland. I live in County Waterford, near the greenway and between the sea and the mountains. Regardless of whether you live in beautiful west Cork, Kerry, Galway or elsewhere, our country has so much to offer. As Senators are all aware, the tourism sector was decimated during the pandemic. Even though it rebounded well in 2022, significant challenges remain on the horizon, including labour shortfalls, accommodation supply issues, inflation, rising costs and a much weaker global economy.

The supports that the Government has put in place for the sector, during and since the pandemic, have ensured that the sector is still in a very strong position for attracting international visitors. In budget 2023, an additional €15 million was allocated for overseas marketing, which will enable Tourism Ireland to significantly ramp up its promotion of Ireland as a world-class tourism experience in key markets, including North America. The US is our most important market in terms of revenue, and is responsible for 29% of all tourist revenue.In 2019, we welcomed 1.7 million US visitors, generating €1.5 billion in revenue but the Senator is right, we can do so much more. Throughout 2023, Tourism Ireland will roll out an extensive and targeted programme of activity in the United States and Canada. A wide range of promotional activities will be undertaken, including major marketing campaigns, publicity and programming, social media and digital marketing, as well as working with the tourism industry at home and the travel trade overseas to facilitate sales. Tourism lreland’s new global campaign, "Fill your heart with Ireland", will go live in the United States on 3 April. This new campaign will demonstrate how the island of Ireland fills the heart of celebrities, influencers and real-life holidaymakers, the likes of whom the Senator saw in Kinsale last weekend, to win market share among a more affluent holidaymaker audience. The key objective is revenue generation but hooks to grow tourism in the regions and during the shoulder season are built in. A number of supporting campaigns are also planned, as the Senator said, including the campaigns around St. Patrick’s Day, Hallowe'en, the Ryder Cup and The Open, luxury travel and screen tourism, as well as outdoor activities. Tourism Ireland will also capitalise on a number of special opportunities set to take place this year, including the Notre Dame versus Navy college football game in August and a collaboration with Riverdance in the United States.

A central theme in all of Tourism Ireland’s activity in North America will be sustainability, including an increased focus on achieving greater dispersal of visitors to the regions and extending the season through off-peak holidays. Greater dispersal of visitors to the regions is the key of what the Senator said because there is so much to offer. A lot of Irish people learned during Covid-19 that we have so much in our country. When you were limited to 5 km or to stay within your own county boundaries, we explored places we may not have visited since we were children. What we have to offer is fantastic. Tourism Ireland in conjunction with Searchlight Pictures created a short, behind-the-scenes video using footage shot during the filming of "The Banshees of Inisherin". It features director, writer and producer Martin McDonagh, as well as actors Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, who describe and praise the special locations chosen for filming. That alone will have a huge impact for tourism from America.