Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

454. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of tourists expected to be attracted here in 2017; the way in which this will compare with the current year; the extent of any extra promotional work required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33040/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

​The latest official data on overseas travel from the CSO shows that there were almost 7.5 million overseas visits to Ireland for the first nine months of 2016, an increase of 12% compared to the same period in 2015.

The Government's Tourism Policy Statement "People, Place and Policy – Growing Tourism to 2025", published in 2015, includes three main targets, to be achieved by 2025:

- Overseas tourism revenue to increase to €5 billion net of inflation, compared to €3.5 billion in 2014;

- Overseas visits to Ireland to increase to ten million, compared to 7.6 million in 2014; and

- 250,000 people to be employed in the tourism sector, compared to 205,000 in 2014.

The specific growth targets for overseas tourism in 2017, and the promotional measures to achieve those targets will be contained in the Tourism Ireland 2017 Business Plan, which is being finalised at present.

Other initiatives, under the Tourism Action Plan 2016-2018, are either under way or in various stages of development and are aimed at growing tourism to reach the ambitious targets in the Tourism Policy Statement.