A seven-year, €540 million strategy to develop Irish tourism was unveiled today by Fáilte Ireland and Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue.
The strategy recommends 67 actions required to improve Ireland's tourism offering, including an investment of €133 million to develop controlled access to environmentally sensitive areas, signposting, water-based facilities and walking and cycling leisure routes.
It also recommends spending €70 million to develop the 20 most important existing visitor attractions to international standard and to create two or three new attractions that can excite international interest.
Gillian Bowler. Photo: Dara Mac Dónaill/Irish Times
Gillian Bowler, chairwoman of Fáilte Ireland, said although Ireland had excellent foundations on which to build a thriving tourism industry, a shift in mindset was needed from "places to stay" to "things to do".
She said; "Internationally, tourism is set to double by 2020. To maintain Ireland's market share we need annual growth of 3.8 per cent in visitor numbers per annum."
Ms Bowler added that tourism was the largest internationally traded services sector in Ireland, based on a wide range of diverse and mostly Irish-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.
"Every euro spent by overseas visitors directly generates an additional 30.2 cent to the Exchequer and including indirect receipts the annual tax contribution is over 2.5 billion," she said.
The seven-year stategy also includes the first comprehensive audit of product and quality around the country. The six leading tourism counties - Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Donegal and Mayo - contain more than half of the national product inventory.
The audit shows many areas are lacking "must-see" attractions. Festivals score well in the arts and events category, while museums rated lowest.