Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount spent by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland on advertising Ireland as a tourist destination in 2005; and his views on whether this represents value for money. [21088/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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In 2005, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland together spent almost €44m on advertising Ireland as a tourist destination. As the Deputy will be aware, Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas. In delivering its marketing programme last year, Tourism Ireland, which is jointly funded by the Irish and British Exchequers, spent over €35m on advertising, publicity, promotions, e-marketing and brand development. The targets set for 2005 were to grow overall visitor numbers by 4.7% and revenue by 6.5%.

CSO data for 2005 show overseas visitor numbers increased by 6% to almost 7 million and a significant rise in revenue — up almost 8% to €3.455 billion, excluding carrier receipts. On both counts, the 2005 targets were exceeded. Against a backdrop of intense global competition and constantly evolving consumer preferences, these results represent a good performance by the sector and underline the significant return which Tourism Ireland achieves from its investment in overseas marketing.

Fáilte Ireland is responsible for promoting holidays on the domestic market, which is so important for regional and year-round business. Last year, it spent approximately €4m on the home holiday campaign. CSO figures, just published for the home market, show domestic holiday trips increased by 6.6% to 3.35 million over 2004 and expenditure on domestic travel was up 12% (to €1.164bn). This performance was ahead of the target of 4% growth set by Fáilte Ireland. It constitutes a strong endorsement of expenditure to promote domestic holidays and suggests that the home holiday campaign has been an effective contributor to facilitating that growth.