Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 247: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he is satisfied regarding the future development of the tourism sector with particular reference to the need to compete in the international arena; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24825/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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We have been fortunate in recent years to enjoy record growth in numbers of overseas visitors and associated revenue. Last year alone we welcomed over 8 million visitors with associated revenue of €4.9 billion, including Irish carrier receipts. While the international tourism market is becoming increasingly competitive, Ireland has consistently outperformed its key competitors in terms of growing the number of overseas visitors to our shores.

It is fully recognised that current global economic factors such as currency fluctuations and oil prices are likely to impact on the number of outward travellers from some of our most important markets such as North America and Great Britain. Nevertheless, I was encouraged by the figures published by the CSO showing that visitors to Ireland for the first quarter of 2008 were up by over 4% compared to the corresponding period in 2007. Tourism Ireland's Corporate Plan for 2008-10 contains ambitious and challenging targets for tourism for the island of Ireland over the next three years. It aims to increase average annual overseas visitor numbers by between 4.2% and 5.1% over the life of the plan, which, if achieved, would mean total overseas visitor numbers to the island of Ireland of over 10.5 million in 2010.

In terms of our ability to compete in the international arena in the future, maintaining and enhancing competitiveness is a major issue for Irish tourism as it is for the economy as a whole. In addressing that issue, it is important to bear in mind that competitiveness is about more than price and costs. It is generally agreed that Ireland cannot and, indeed, should not attempt to compete on the basis of costs with mass tourism destinations.

The tourism agencies continue to monitor Ireland's competitiveness as a tourism destination and I am encouraging them to assist the industry in responding to changing conditions through a variety of programmes in marketing, human resource development, quality enhancement, product development and productivity. I believe that the strategic approach taken to tourism development in recent years, by both the public and private sectors, has given the sector the capacity to withstand the cyclical external challenges and to sustain its performance in coming years.