Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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35. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on whether there is sufficient innovation in local tourism offerings in areas such as heritage culinary, historical and eco-tourism; if new approaches are desirable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36972/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Tourism remains of critical importance to the Irish economy but, like all sectors, it must continue to evolve and innovate in order to compete successfully with other destinations.

Last year, Fáilte Ireland launched four new Regional Tourism Development Strategies 2023-2027 for Ireland’s Ancient East, Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Dublin, which will provide a framework for sustainable tourism development across Ireland. By capitalising on the uniqueness of each brand, the strategies set a clear path ahead for the development of new and enhanced visitor experiences, building greater capacity and capability into the industry, and provide a clear pathway for attracting visitors that will stay longer and spend more. The strategies provide a 10-year vision and a five-year action plan for each region. This alignment provides the blueprint for the development of sustainable tourism as it is crucial that we continue to innovate, improve and enhance our tourism offering, for domestic and international visitors. They identify what needs to be done to unlock the commercial potential of each region, while protecting the environment, enhancing the lives of local communities and serving the needs and expectations of our visitors.

The Regional Tourism Development Strategies will be activated across every region through a series of local area action plans, referred to as Destination and Experience Development Plans (DEDPs). These local development plans are highly collaborative in nature, involving all local stakeholders and this is reflected in the agreed action plans where ownership is assigned among the various parties. Fáilte Ireland’s commitment is for every part of the country to have a detailed tourism development action plan created in partnership with local stakeholders.

Furthermore, in relation to national policy, I am currently finalising a new Tourism Policy Framework which will mainstream sustainability across the entire sector in the period to 2030. While it will aim to grow the tourism sector, the objective will be to do so in a manner consistent with our broader sustainability targets. Regional growth and season extension will be important objectives. The new Tourism Policy Framework will address policy objectives related to tourism careers, innovation, product development and how we maximise our tourism assets to ensure future tourism growth is sustainable. I hope to have the Policy Framework finalised in the coming weeks.