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The Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Shane Ross TD and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD today published a Tourism Action Plan for the period 2019-2021.

In 2015 the Government launched its Tourism Policy Statement "People, Place and Policy Growing Tourism to 2025" which set out the tourism policy objectives for the subsequent decade. This was followed by the establishment of a Tourism Leadership Group who agreed on priority actions to be addressed in the period to 2018. The Plan published today seeks to build on the progress made since 2015 in achieving the Government’s policy objectives evidenced by the strong performance of the tourism sector.

Minister Ross stated: “The development of the Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021 comes at a time when Tourism is performing very strongly providing vital jobs and revenue across the country. Notwithstanding this success, it is important to examine what actions are required to sustain this performance over the coming years. This plan addresses the potential for recalibrated growth targets, sustainable tourism, a greater emphasis on regional growth and season extension, enhanced tourism experiences and the contribution of wider Government to support tourism. The 26% increase in funding for the tourism sector in Budget 2019 will allow Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to help the tourism sector to achieve sustainable growth in line with key actions in the Tourism Action Plan. The budget increase also represents a significant step towards restoring overseas tourism marketing funds to pre-recession levels on a phased basis, as committed to in the previous Tourism Action Plan.

I would like to thank all the stakeholders and in particular the members of the Tourism Leadership Group, who contributed to this process. I am confident that the implementation of the Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021 will help to sustain the success of the sector.”

Minister Griffin said: “I welcome the publication of the Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021 which, within the framework of the Tourism Policy Statement, will help the tourism sector to maintain it’s vital economic contribution. I particularly welcome the commitment to regional growth and season extension and the further development of Ireland as a food-tourism destination.
As Tourism continues to evolve and conditions change it is important that the Policy Framework in place for tourism remains robust and that priority actions are progressed in consultation with the tourism sector. The Tourism Action Plan 2019-2021 aims to further build relationships within the tourism industry and encourage collaboration. I also welcome the continued acknowledgement of the central role for Local Authorities in tourism and the commitment to strengthen the relationship between local communities and the tourism sector. One of the most frequently stated reasons to visit Ireland is the friendliness and hospitality of the Irish people and I believe that the participation of local communities will be essential to build on our recent success.”

Notes for Editors
The Tourism Action Plan 2019 - 2021 is available in both Irish and English on the Department’s website here.