Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

137. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he plans to establish a tourism satellite account to enable transparent and accurate recording of tourism data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41280/19]

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

As the Deputy is aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is responsible for the collection, analysis and publication of statistics about Ireland’s people, society and economy. Effective research is essential to monitor our performance and the impact of tourism on our economy and the CSO publishes data on tourism that is critical in this regard. The production of a tourism satellite account would further develop our understanding of the economic impact of tourism.

The Government’s Tourism Policy Statement recognises the importance of identifying additional sources of data that can be harnessed to provide enhanced understanding of tourism performance and its economic contribution. Therefore, an action has been included in the Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021 to ensure that the development of a tourism satellite account for Ireland will be progressed by the CSO in order to gauge how important tourism is to our economy.

My Department continues to work with the CSO to bring this action to a successful conclusion. I believe that a Tourism Satellite Account for Ireland is the next logical step in the development and progression of tourism statistics.