Overview

 

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism's role (explained in more detail below) in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national policy. It's remit is :

"To support the sustainable growth of the tourism industry and to help it address the competitive challenge throught the development, implementation and influencing of a range of policy actions and programmes which optimise the economic and social benefits of the sector to Ireland."

Agencies that are established under the aegis of the Department deal with the administration of that policy.

 

Agencies

National Tourism Development Authority (Fáilte Ireland)

The mission of the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland, is:

"To increase the contribution of tourism to the economy by facilitating the development of a competitive and profitable tourism industry."

Fáilte Ireland's key role is to support and help the industry to meet the challenges facing the entire global tourism market and to sustain, or increase, the level of activity in the sector.
It is primarily a catalyst of other people’s activity. It supports the industry in its efforts to be more competitive and more profitable. As the State’s tourism development authority, it is well placed to address some of the broader issues that need to be tackled if the industry is to grow and to develop.
Its emphasis is on strategic partnership, with all the interests in Irish tourism at national, local and regional levels working together towards a common goal.
Fáilte Ireland’s range of supports and services provides those involved, or considering becoming involved in Irish tourism with a one-stop-shop to meet their business or professional needs. Working in partnership with the industry, Fáilte Ireland will meet the industry’s needs, leading and supporting Irish tourism in its next phase of development. Fáilte Ireland's website contains more detail on these subjects. Its website is also a very useful resource in the planning of any holiday. Fáilte Ireland also manages the discoverireland website which is dedicated to listings of Accommodation, Special Offers, Festivals, Events and other information which contribute to many happy holidays in Ireland. The website also has specific links to each of the countries regions where more detailed and localised information can be obtained.

Tourism Ireland

Tourism Ireland is the all-island tourism marketing company established on foot of the Good Friday Agreement by Bord Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Tourism Ireland Ltd was formally incorporated on 11th December 2000. Its Memorandum and Articles of Association govern its operations and it is accountable to the North South Ministerial Council established under the Good Friday Agreement. The Company has responsibility for all-Ireland destination marketing, Tourism Brand Ireland, the delivery of regional and product marketing and promotion activity on behalf of Fáilte Ireland and the NITB and the overseas office network. Tourism Ireland's website has a host of information on visitor attractions, how to reach Ireland, itineraries, accommodation etc and is well worth a visit when planning a holiday to Ireland.

Shannon Development

Shannon Development is responsible for the development and promotion of Tourism in Ireland's Mid-West region. Its mission is to initiate, participate in and support integrated tourism development that will achieve sustained economic growth in and throughout the Shannon region. The area covered by this includes Limerick City, Co. Limerick, Co. Clare, northern Tipperary and south and west Offaly.

Tourism product development is pro-actively pursued by Shannon Development by means of supports including project identification, a tourism advisory service for prospective developers and grant aid support for certain categories of tourism projects. Through its network of Tourist Offices, Shannon Development provides tourist services to visitors to the Region.

Regional Tourism Development Boards

During 2006 the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism gave his consent to the delegation by Fáilte Ireland of certain functions to 5 new regional development boards. The functions delegated are:

This delegation of functions to these Boards took effect on 1st July 2006. The Boards are named as follows:

Dublin Tourism

Dublin Tourism is the official tourism board for Dublin with responsibility for marketing and promoting the Dublin region. Dublin Tourism runs an award winning website and operates five walk-in Tourist Information and Reservations Centres which are open 364 days a year, and five Visitor Attractions in the region.

Overview of the Tourism Industry

The number of overseas visitors to Ireland in 2007 was over 8 million – an increase of almost 4% on 2006 figures. These visitors generated over €4.9 billion in foreign exchange earnings (including carrier receipts and cross border expenditure). Together with a projected €1.6 billion income generated by the domestic market, Irish tourism is estimated to be worth over €6.5 billion annually. The tourism and hospitality industry provides direct employment for almost 250,000.

Individual, small to medium sized enterprises are the backbone of the industry which competes in an increasingly globalised international tourism marketplace.

The goals set for tourism are designed to provide the Department with operational focus and are set out in its Statement of Strategy (2005 – 2007). As noted above these require the Department :

To support the sustainable growth of the tourism industry and to help it address the competitive challenge throught the develoment, implementation and influencing of a range of policy actions and programmes which optimise the economic and social benefits of the sector to Ireland.

The nature of the Department's mandate is also such that there are a number of important strategic results areas where the Department interacts with other Departments and agencies in order to deliver on Government policy. Among the key cross-cutting issues which impact on the Department are maintenance of competitively priced, regular access to and from our main markets; provision of identified access roads and sanitary services infrastructure to support use of visitor attractions and tourist areas; the development, and appropriate management, of a range of cultural and heritage activities capable of being marketed overseas; pursuit of an environmental policy which accommodates the sensitive development and expansion of tourism with opportunities for the development of rural tourism and the enjoyment of natural resources for tourism, sport and recreation.

Traditionally, the unique attraction of Ireland as a tourist destination has been the level and depth of contact with the Irish people. Ireland has a relaxed and clean environment characterised by an unhurried pace of life and beautiful landscapes. More recently visitors have also travelled to Ireland to avail of the wide range of sporting and recreational facilities and events. Golf, angling, walking, cycling, equestrian, cultural and heritage are all easily accessible alongside some of the highest standards of accommodation, food and hospitality, often in a pre-dominantly rural setting. Meanwhile, Dublin has established itself as a vibrant destination in its own right, competing with Europe's renowned capital cities, in particular for short-break business.

Ireland's recent economic success has raised new challenges. There are pressures on the environment in certain areas and a constant need to enhance facilities to keep pace with the growing number of tourists from at home and abroad. Tourism like many other economic sectors depends strongly on climatic conditions. The Department is actively engaging with sectoral partners at EU, National and Agency level in examining adaption actions to address the effects of climate change on the sector.

Economic success means that the tourism industry must vie with other industries for staff in a tight labour market. It must also be vigilant in the face of price and inflationary pressures together with exchange rate fluctuations. Ireland must also ensure that it continues to provide the warmth of the traditional Irish welcome.

Economic growth has led to a shift in the focus of Government policy from job creation to a growing emphasis on sustainable and spatially balanced development. This reflects a desire to ensure that the fruits of economic prosperity are shared throughout the country and the negative effects of development on the environment are minimised. Enhanced North/South co-operation arising from the Good Friday Agreement has particular implications for tourism with the express intention of exploiting the potential for joint marketing of the island of Ireland, to the benefit of the industry North and South.

All this is happening against the backdrop of significant changes in the international tourism market. Increasingly discerning international tourists rightfully seek the highest standards of facilities and services and a unique visitor experience. Developments in information and communication technologies have heralded significant change in the pattern of bookings and trends in holiday taking. Increased international availability of low cost transport is opening up a wider range of holiday destinations. Meanwhile "shocks" such as international terrorist attacks have the potential to impact significantly on tourism demand particularly in the long-haul markets.

The tourism sector in Ireland is maturing in a complex environment of rapid economic and social change. The Department's challenge is to ensure an appropriate institutional architecture and suite of policies to facilitate the continued development by the industry of a sustainable and spatially balanced tourism sector. That development must embrace the all-island opportunities offered by the Good Friday Agreement and the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

Tourism Review

"New Horizons for Irish Tourism - An Agenda for Action" – the report of the high level Tourism Policy Review Group - was published on 30th September 2003. This :

Following publication, the Minister appointed the Tourism Action Plan Implementation Group (TAPIG) to monitor implementation of the recommendations of the Review Group. TAPIG presented three progress reports to the Minister, its third and final progress report being presented in March 2006. The full progress reports are available on the publications page of the Department's website.

In May 2006 the Tourism Strategy Implementation Group (TSIG) was appointed by the Minister to advise on implementation of the outstanding recommendations contained in the New Horizons report and respond to evolving issues in the course of the development of the tourism industry in a dynamic international context.
At present the Group are preparing a progress report for the Minister which will include an assessment of progress on issues since the publication of the New Horizons Report and recommendations for a strategic review.