Irish Tourist Industry Confederation: Raise national tourism targets

An industry lobby group has called for national tourism targets to be revised upward and for the next government to be more ambitious in its outlook for the sector.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation said yesterday that the last government’s national tourism strategy — ‘People, Place & Policy’ – was too modest in targeting €5bn in overseas visitor spend by 2025.

“CSO figures show us that international tourists now spend €4.2bn per annum while staying in Ireland; the idea that as a country we should be aiming to hit only €5bn by 2025 is simply not an appropriately stretching target,” said confederation chairman Paul Gallagher.