Seven-member tourism group appointed

The seven-member group to oversee the implementation of the initial two-year action plan for Irish Tourism has been announced.

Former chief executive of Forfás, John Travers, who chaired the Tourism Policy Review Group, will chair the implementation group.

He will be joined by Philip Furlong, Secretary General, Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, Jim Murphy, President, Irish Hotels Federation, Michael O'Donoghue, Managing Director, O'Donoghue/Ring Hotels, Eileen O'Mara Walsh, O'Mara Travel and former Chairperson of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, Raymond Rooney.

They will be joined by the economist Paul Tansey. It will work with the tourism industry, State Agencies including Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, and various government departments to act on the strategic recommendations set out in the report.

The report of the Tourism Policy Review Group was presented to the Minister for Tourism John O’Donoghue in September last year.

Hailed as the most important and authoritative document on tourism policy and performance in more than a decade, it has presented a blueprint for the growth and development of the Irish tourism industry in the next decade.

Among the targets it has set are the doubling of overseas visitor spend to €6bn and a corresponding increase in the number of annual overseas visitors from six to 10 million.