Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the steps he will take to ensure balanced regional development in terms of tourism; the way he proposes to encourage more tourists to travel outside the major cities and to visit regional locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19335/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The National Development Plan's Tourism Development Programme, which provides for an €800m Exchequer investment in tourism over the next 7 years, has as one of its fundamental objectives the stimulation of regional development. The Programme includes an "International Marketing" sub-programme which provides €335m to promote the island of Ireland in key international markets. The key objective over the seven years will be to increase tourism revenue and visitor yield and to help achieve a wider regional and seasonal distribution of business; Product Development and Infrastructure sub-programme funding of €317m, part of which will be used to support the delivery of Fáilte Ireland's Tourism Product Development Strategy for the period 2007-2013. In rolling out programmes and initiatives under this Strategy, special regard will be paid to the need for integrated regional development; a Training and Human Resource Development Sub-Programme, which will invest €148m in the education and training of the tourism workforce, including the continuation of initiatives aimed at improving management capability and networking in SMEs and micro-enterprises at regional level. In addition; other tourism investment opportunities under the new NDP, for example the proposed new Gateway Innovation Fund, the Rural Social and Economic Development Programme, and the Built and Natural Heritage Sub-Programmes, also have a strong regional and rural dimension. I believe that the major reform of tourism structures that has been completed in the last year or so will contribute to the regional development objective and will help to optimise the benefits of tourism in the regions. As the Deputy will be aware, five new Regional Tourism Development Boards were established in 2006. These boards are now preparing strategies for their respective regions and their key priority is to ensure a greater focus on the individual needs of each region at a national level and the direct involvement of the region in the development of national policy and tourism strategy. These new regional tourism structures will also be an important resource available to the various spending agencies in optimising the tourism benefits of their investment under the National Development Plan, thereby adding to the social and economic impact locally of such spending.

Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that there are a number of other initiatives "day-to-day responsibilities of the tourism State agencies" that particularly favour the regional distribution of tourists. These include Fáilte Ireland's Festivals and Cultural Events Initiative; the use of predominantly rural imagery in the advertising and promotion of Ireland, both at home and abroad; the regional coverage with respect to visiting media; and the specific focus on achieving a wide spread of visitors in relation to access transport policies.