REPORT OF THE TOURISM RENEWAL GROUP

The Report of the Tourism Renewal Group was published today. The Group was established in December 2008 to review the strategic framework for Irish tourism. Perhaps the most notable feature of the report is the concluding comments of the Chairperson, Maurice Pratt, as follows: 'The greatest insight I have gained from chairing this review group is the extent to which the sector is taken for granted, principally I believe because tourism is embedded as an activity in every town and parish in Ireland. The numbers don’t lie….it accounts for 4% of the country’s GNP. If it receives the recognition and support its scale deserves, it stands ready to play its part in our journey to recovery'. Other comments worth noting include -

• The need for tourism to be much more visible & integrated into the broader economic strategic framework
• Despite punching above its weight internationally, Irish tourism has failed to reflect that strength in the national arena
• Data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that tourism-related jobs are more important in Ireland than in most of Europe
• Government should reaffirm the social & economic contribution of the industry and explicitly integrate tourism into its consideration of policies and programmes across the public sector
• Employers and the business sector also need to strengthen the case for tourism. Their interventions should aim to raise the coverage and analysis of tourism as a vital economic sector in the media, and also to encourage a greater engagement with tourism issues in the academic community and general economic debate commensurate with tourism's performance & contribution
• There is no state funding for research & development in tourism currently. This compares with R&D funding of €66.4 million for Teagasc & €37.8 million for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food in 2008
• There is an absence of engagement by key bodies such as the Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the National Economic & Social Development Office in analysing tourism's impact and potential
• The establishment of the Tourism Statistics Liaison Group, an all-island body with responsibility for co-ordinating tourism statistics across the island of Ireland was welcomed
• Work on an updated and comprehensive Tourism Satellite Account for Ireland should begin immediately