Overview

 

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport'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 growth of a competitive and sustainable tourism industry, enhancing its contribution to national economic and social goals, through the development, implementation and influencing of a range of policy actions and programmes by the Department, its Agencies and other Government Departments, in consultation with industry partners".

The agencies, under the aegis of the Department, are establised to deal with the administration of that policy.

 

Agencies

Fáilte Ireland

Fáilte Ireland's mission 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.This role is particularly important given recent economic developments and the need to sustain existing tourism enterprises and the jobs which they support.
Fáilte Ireland, which was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003, is primarily a catalyst of other people’s activity. It supports the industry and, in particular, individual tourism enterprises in their efforts to be more competitive and more profitable. As the State’s tourism development authority, it is also well placed to address some of the broader issues that need to be tackled if the industry is to sustain the gains made in recent years and to prepare for further growth and development of the industry.
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. 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 country's 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 the then Bord Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB). 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 and support tourism development as a key element in the achievement of overall economic growth 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.

Shannon Development published its regional strategy 2008-2010 in 2008. This document is available from the Shannon Development website via the following link www.shannon-dev.ie/media/Media,7543,en.pdf

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.

Dublin Tourism published its Regional Tourism Plan, Making it Happen, for the period 2008-2010 in January 2008. It is available on the Dublin Tourism website via the link http://trade.visitdublin.com/trade/

Overview of the Tourism Industry

Central Statistics Office figures show that there were over 6.9 million overseas visitors to the Republic of Ireland in 2009. This represents a decrease of 11.6% on 2008 mainly arising due to the difficult world economic environment during 2009. While any reduction in overseas visitors is disappointing the figures must be seen in context. Ireland enjoyed a number of years of successive growth in visitor numbers reaching a record level of just over 8 million visitors in 2007

The tourism and hospitality sector continues to be a major economic force in the economy, providing up to 200,000 jobs, helping to generate almost €3.9 billion in foreign revenue earnings and generating of the order of €1.2 billion in tax earnings in 2009.

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 (2008 – 2010). As noted above these require the Department :

To support the growth of a competitive and sustainable tourism industry, enhancing its contribution to national economic and social goals, through the development, implementation and influencing of a range of policy actions and programmes by the Department, its Agencies and other Government Departments, in consultation with industry partners.

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.

Modern life 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 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 positive actions to address the effects of climate change on the sector.

In an increasingly competitive global market the Department is very conscious of the need for the industry to 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.

Pressures of recent economic developments are leading to a shift in the focus of Government policy. There is now a growing emphasis on the need to support enterprises in order to maintain viable enterprises, maximise employment and ensure that the industry is ready to respond to the economic revival as soon as it happens. In so doing the Department will encourage activity which has the minimum possible negative effects on the environment. 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 of this is happening against the backdrop of significant changes in the international tourism market. Across the globe, individuals are facing serious economic challenges and so Ireland must work to attract increasingly discerning international tourists who rightfully seek the highest standards of facilities and services. The Department is confident that Ireland continues to meet these expectations as well as providing a unique visitor experience. Developments in information and communication technologies have heralded significant change in the pattern of bookings and trends in holiday taking.

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 consolidation of recent gains and the continued development by the industry of a sustainable and spatially balanced tourism sector.

Tourism Strategy

"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.
The report of the Tourism Strategy Implementation Group, is available to download here

 

In December 2008 the Minister for Arts Sport and Tourism announced the establishment of a high-level Tourism Renewal Group, chaired by Mr Maurice Pratt, to review and, where appropriate, renew Ireland's tourism strategy as set out in "New Horizons for Irish Tourism: an Agenda for Action 2003-2012".

 

The Group was asked to report back to the Minister with recommendations in the form of a Framework for Action for the period to 2013, listing key actions to assist in ensuring that tourism continues to be a major industry for Ireland and strategies necessary to maintain the long-term sustainable growth of Irish tourism. Click here for Terms of Reference and Membership

The Report of the Tourism Renewal Group (available to download here) sets out tourism's contribution to Ireland's economic, social and cultural development and the prospects for Irish tourism in a changed world, as well as a Framework for Action for tourism's survival, recovery and growth over the period to 2013 – broken down into five Survival Actions over 2009-2010 and nine Recovery Actions for 2010-2013.