Minister’s record cash injection into tourism campaign targets Britain

TOURISM Minister John O’Donoghue will rely on a massive marketing campaign in Britain this year to spearhead a drive to grow the Irish tourist industry.

He has also given the go-ahead for a strategy that will address a potentially damaging trend within the Irish tourism sector whereby large urban centres - particularly Dublin - have become more popular, while visitor numbers have fallen in traditional tourist destinations along the western seaboard.

Faced with growing competition from Eastern European countries, new long-haul destinations as well as a radically changed market - driven by cheap flights and the internet - the expansion of the Irish tourist industry has slowed over the past three years.