BUSINESSMAN MAURICE Pratt is to chair the new 10-member Tourism Renewal Group announced by Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen.
Mr Cullen announced the formation of the group yesterday as he published a report from the Tourism Strategy Implementation Group, which said the greatest difficulty facing tourism was global economic uncertainty.
This would create the most serious challenge for tourism since September 11th, 2001, it said.
Dealing with the employment mix in the industry here, the report says that maximising the potential of foreign nationals in the tourism industry without taking away from the "Irish experience" remains a key issue facing the sector.
It says it is vital that investment in the industry, as set out in the National Development Plan, remains on track if the sector is to withstand the challenges posed by the downturn. Priorities for the industry should be examined in light of changes in the international tourism market, the performance of Irish tourism since 2003 and Irish tourism policy.
A number of issues have come to the fore for the tourism industry in recent years.
The image of Ireland "as a stable, peaceful island is a major strength", it says. "The all-island dimension is growing in importance in tourism, in particular the re-establishment of effective government institutions in Northern Ireland."
However, it goes on that while Ireland's tourism performance has been impressive in recent years, not all regions have benefited to the same extent. "The optimal development of each region to its potential remains a challenge."
On "diversity and the Irish welcome", the report says that increasing diversity has been a "significant boost to tourism development, widening and deepening the labour pool".
