Fáilte Ireland unveil seven-year plan

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, today published a seven-year strategy to guide investment in tourism.

It identifies 67 actions required to improve Ireland’s tourism offering and recommends an investment of €540m over the period.

Launching the strategy at Dublin Castle, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Mr John O’Donoghue TD said: “I welcome this framework to guide public and private investment in tourism over the next seven years. The development of tourism is a government priority. It delivers very tangible benefits, economically and socially, to all regions of the country.

“An unprecedented €800m has been allocated to tourism under the National Development Plan, with a three-fold increase in investment in product development on the previous plan. Combined with important tax concessions in the Finance Bill the environment is very positive for future investment,” the Minister said.

“Ireland has excellent foundations on which to build and following investment in recent years, an accommodation stock second to none,” said Gillian Bowler, Chairman of Fáilte Ireland. “But that is simply not sufficient.”

“Our accommodation sector has surged forward in terms of capacity and quality over the past decade – at this point the focus must be on improving occupancy rates rather than adding new stock. We need a shift in the mindset from ‘places to stay’ to ‘things to do’ – because that is what all of our visitors, be they families, older couples or younger singles, are seeking."