Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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185. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which he expects the tourism sector to grow in 2019 nationally in addition to the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22258/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Tourism has enjoyed a number of years of growth in Ireland, with revenue from overseas visitors to Ireland reaching record levels in 2018, at over €5 billion.

As the Deputy is aware, official statistics on tourism are published by the Central Statistics Office. Overseas visitor data released by the CSO for the early part of 2019 shows that there is continued growth in visitor numbers which indicates that further growth in overseas revenue will be delivered this year broadly in line with Tourism Ireland’s 6% target for the island of Ireland.

In accordance with the Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021, which I published in late 2018, Tourism Ireland is this year rolling out a new tourism brand campaign for the island of Ireland. This campaign, called Fill Your Heart with Ireland, is placing a greater emphasis on regional growth and season extension through the promotion of outdoor activities, Ireland’s developing food experiences, and will help build the attractiveness of some of our less well-known attractions and regions internationally. This initiative will help to deliver further growth in the regions outside of Dublin.