Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the action he proposes to take to ensure the competitiveness of the tourist industry in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40973/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the extent to which Ireland remains as a good value tourist location with particular reference to comparisons with adjacent competitors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41033/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 118 together.

Tourism is a services industry, which relies heavily on labour, and Irish public policy operates on the basis of seeking to ensure that those in employment are paid fair wages. Our fiscal model also emphasises indirect as opposed to direct taxation. While both these approaches provide a strong economic development impetus, they can impact on consumption costs for the visitor. The Tourism Agencies continue to monitor Ireland's competitiveness as a tourism destination. While Ireland is clearly not a low-cost destination, it does seem that Ireland is not perceived as an expensive destination to get to but that there are issues about the relative cost of some on-the-ground amenities.

In 2005, Tourism Ireland undertook a pilot project that focused on benchmarking Ireland's offering online against our key competitors in the top 4 markets (GB, USA, France and Germany) in relation to the cost, availability and choice of flights, hotels and car hire. Overall, it appears that Ireland, in the online arena, is very competitive in these sectors. Fáilte Ireland's Visitor Attitude Survey shows that the area of value, price and good all-round value for money remains an important prerequisite for visitors when considering Ireland as their holiday destination, as does the availability of reasonably priced accommodation and competitively priced air and sea fares. In relation to accommodation prices specifically, it is encouraging to note the results of a recently published survey conducted by Hotels.com. The results show that, on average, hotel room rates in Dublin for the second quarter of this year were down compared to the same period last year and were cheaper than room rates in London or Belfast. The survey reported that room rates in Cork and Belfast were also down on last year. It is important to remember, however, that competitiveness is not just about price. It is about value for money and, if our tourism sector is to be competitive, that is what it must deliver. As in most industries, there is, no doubt, scope for efficiency gains and Fáilte Ireland has a range of programmes to help the industry in this area.

The Report of the Tourism Policy Review Group, "New Horizons for Irish Tourism" published in September 2003, set out a range of actions to address competitiveness. My Department, the tourism agencies, and the tourism industry will continue to focus on these actions.