Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, to the House.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement Matter and welcome him to the House. The issue I am raising is very important for rural revival and the survival of rural towns and villages, particularly in my constituency of Galway East. I request that the Minister of State consider pursuing a tourism strategy that would allow for the development of additional tourist trails off the Wild Atlantic Way in order to optimise the tourism potential of towns and villages in close proximity to the successful driving route. It is time to develop tourist routes off the Wild Atlantic Way in order to bring destinations of special amenity, cultural and tourism interest into the frame and showcase all that we have in our rural communities.

As the Minister of State is well aware, visitor numbers have been very strong year-on-year, with an increase of 12.5% in overseas visits to Ireland in the first nine months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. We must examine the massive success of the Wild Atlantic Way, which is something of which we should all be very proud in the west of Ireland. However, we should develop it further and include towns and villages of special interest within close proximity of the driving trail, adding them as appendices to the map of the route.

It is important to give tourists choice when they are exploring new pastures. Routes could be designated as special historic, geographic, literary or cultural offshoots of the Wild Atlantic Way, thereby offering something to the more discerning traveller along the way. In particular, for places such as Gort in south Galway, which has a world-famous Yeats connection, with Thoor Ballylee and the link to Lady Augusta Gregory, it would be foolhardy, to say the least, not to optimise these connections in this way. It has to be said that the local community in Gort has done Trojan work in putting their town on the edge of the Burren on the map. I was delighted to see recently that the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, approved funding which will help bring the town to another level. The people of Gort, who are working very hard, need further rewards to spurn them on to greater things.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. However, I should point out the respective roles of the Minister and the tourism agencies. The Minister and I set national tourism policy in order to grow a competitive and sustainable tourism industry. While my Department provides the funding for investment in tourism, it is not directly involved in the administration of funding programmes or in the development of experiences. In this context, Fáilte Ireland has operational responsibility for tourism product development, including the development of a small number of experience brands - such as, for example, the Wild Atlantic Way - that will make an impact in international markets.

The Senator is familiar with the Wild Atlantic Way and the impact it has had but it is worth reminding ourselves that the project was born out of the need to address the dramatic decline in international visitors to the west in the past decade. The route is a device to sell the unique experience of the west coast to an international market. The main objective of the Wild Atlantic Way project is to motivate more overseas visitors to visit the west, give them reasons to linger for longer and encourage them to engage with the landscape and communities along the route. As a visitor experience, the Wild Atlantic Way is all about experiencing where the land meets the sea and how the sea has shaped and influenced what happens on the land. The essence of the route is wildness, so it focuses on the wild Atlantic, hugging the coast wherever possible, and avoids dilution of the concept by straying too far inland. That said, the way is not simply a touring route, but a means to guide and attract visitors to particular areas. All villages, businesses and areas in close proximity of the route are, in essence, part of the geography of the Wild Atlantic Way. The purpose of the way is to guide visitors to what is to be seen on our western coast and to provide easy access to a range of experiences along and near the route. Communities on and near the Wild Atlantic Way are already using the route to generate more tourism traffic and revenue.

The route was developed using a collaborative approach in which regional steering groups were convened to inform the work. The process involved an extensive study of the coast and an evaluation of various route options, as well as a comprehensive process of stakeholder, community and public consultation. In total, 366 feedback submissions were made containing 862 individual comments. The eventual agreed route was the subject of capital funding in 2014 and 2015. This was initially directed towards route signage and developing the 188 discovery points along the way, including the 15 signature discovery points. Most recently, this involved the installation of "photo points" and interpretation panels at all 188 discovery and embarkation points.

Fáilte Ireland has advised me that the next phase of development of the Wild Atlantic Way includes the development of loops off the way's main spine to maximise the opportunities presented by it. Hopefully, this will spread visitors farther and encourage a more sustainable management of the environmental quality of the coastal routes. This work will involve all stakeholders in each loop, including local authorities and tourism businesses. The project is only at an early stage and the criteria for the loops, which need to ensure that they remain true to the brand of the Wild Atlantic Way, have not yet been finalised.

As someone from a rural area, I am committed to strong regional tourism through Fáilte Ireland. It is vital for the sector to increase the geographical spread of activity and the Wild Atlantic Way has been a great success in doing that. While the route is still being fully developed, it has already become a central part of our overseas promotion. That said, given how long it takes to get on the international travel map, I expect that it will be take much more time before the route starts getting the widespread recognition among potential tourists that it deserves. However, I am satisfied that it will continue bringing more overseas visitors to the west, including the Senator's county of Galway.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. He has undoubtedly done a great deal of work with tourism initiatives in his county of Mayo, on which I commend him.

The Wild Atlantic Way has been a major success. Anyone caught in a traffic jam between Kilcolgan and Kinvara understands that. I welcome the consideration of adding loops to the route. They would be beneficial for areas involved. Something of a loop is already in place in Gort in the form of the Lady Gregory and Yeats heritage trail. It should be included on a map of loops. Even an extra page on the Wild Atlantic Way's website would be an ideal reference. The Minister of State's response was welcome.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Senator was correct to say that the Wild Atlantic Way had been a great success. It allows areas that visitors have traditionally not found to be discovered. The Senator mentioned Mayo. Let us take Erris as an example. It was a hidden gem and no one knew of its beauty, but more visitors are discovering it because of the Wild Atlantic Way and now it is flying.

I have discussed the points raised by the Senator with Fáilte Ireland. We want communities to work with it and local authorities. As the Senator correctly stated, that the route passes an area by does not mean that we cannot build facilities there to attract visitors from the way. This is what the Wild Atlantic Way is about. We are promoting this product heavily and it is beginning to win awards internationally, for example, at the recent World Travel Fair, but developing it will take ten years. We are doing something on it every year. Local authorities, communities and everyone else must buy into it. Where they have done so to date, the way is working well. Even those areas with traditionally strong tourism are finding more visitors arriving.

As the Senator stated, this will be the best year for tourism ever, not just since the recession. Last year, 7.5 million people visited Ireland. This year, we will welcome 8 million visitors. For a small country, that is brilliant. I compliment Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, my Department and local authorities. Communities have bought into the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and tourism, which is where jobs will be created in rural Ireland. I will seek the Senator's support in ensuring that the Government gives us funding as well as the chance that other areas have been given. Dublin is flying, which is creating problems in terms of prices, etc. We want to disperse more people across rural Ireland to give those areas an opportunity as well.