Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on his efforts to generate spin-off tourism from the London 2012 Olympic Games. [32049/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has been invited to attend the Olympic Games in London; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26511/12]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 103 together.

Myself and Minister Varadkar have been invited to attend the Olympic Games in London and I look forward to supporting our athletes and promoting Ireland as a destination to visit. We will attend some events on different, non-overlapping days and only one Minister from the Department will be present at any stage.

Tourism Ireland, which has responsibility for the overseas promotion of Ireland as a tourist destination, has been rolling out a busy programme of activity to target a wide range of potential visitors around the world in the run-up to and during the 2012 Games. This includes working with the official Olympics tour operators in a number of markets to offer package extensions for their clients attending the Games. A series of itineraries for the thousands of accredited and non-accredited media has also been developed, encouraging them to come here either before, during or after the Games.

Furthermore the Games provide a significant opportunity in terms of targeting Londoners who may wish to escape the congestion and disruption in the city. With this in mind, Tourism Ireland has launched a significant advertising push targeting Londoners by presenting Ireland as the ideal destination to escape to for the duration of the Olympics. Social media including Facebook and Twitter is also being used to create an awareness of the key sporting events and festivals taking place across Ireland this Summer.

Of course, on the sporting side many countries used Irish facilities to train in the lead up to the Games themselves. In particular, several countries availed of facilities at the National Aquatic Centre while other events prior to the Games themselves in sports such as hockey, sailing and athletics attracted competitors from overseas to Ireland.