Written Answers - Official Engagements
Jack Wall
Question:
157
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the Minister for Transport's visit to Boston, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views in relation to such a briefing and documentation; the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[9119/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
158
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs to New Zealand, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9120/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
159
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the Minister for Finance's visit to Korea and Singapore, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9121/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
160
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the Minister for Defence's visit to Savannah, Georgia, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9122/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
161
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children to Cyprus, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9123/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
162
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Health and Children to Manchester and Birmingham, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9124/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
163
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food to Japan, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourism industry here.
[9125/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
164
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food to Hong Kong, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9126/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
165
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Agriculture and Food to Paris, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9127/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
166
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science to Houston and San Antonio, Texas, USA, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9128/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
167
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government to Toronto, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9129/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
168
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his Department officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to Brazil, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9130/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
169
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Education and Science to Australia, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9131/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
170
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs visit to Norway, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9132/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
171
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to South Africa, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9133/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
172
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to China, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9134/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
173
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs to Chicago, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9135/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
174
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to Chicago, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9136/03]
Jack Wall
Question:
175
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
if he or his officials have been briefed or if his Department has received information in regard to the visit of the Minister of State at the Department of Transport to Philadelphia, USA, as a result of his Department's briefing prior to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations visit by the Minister; his views on such a briefing and documentation; and the effect such a visit and the contacts made will have on the tourist industry here.
[9137/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 to 175, inclusive, together.
St. Patrick's Day has traditionally signalled the start of the tourism season in Ireland. With the President, Taoiseach, Ministers and Ministers of State visiting our key tourism markets – including Britain, North America, continental Europe, Canada and Australia – this year's programme of official overseas engagements for St. Patrick's Day presented a unique opportunity to ensure that Ireland was presented in a consistent manner as a top class tourist destination to a wide and receptive audience.
To this end, my Department worked closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ireland Ltd. to maximise the tourism promotional potential of these visits by making available to all Ministers travelling abroad special tourism briefing and speaking points which were customised for individual major markets. In addition, direct dialogue between Tourism Ireland's market offices and the diplomatic missions at an early stage of the planning process ensured that tourism interests were accommodated in so far as possible within the official programmes being arranged by the missions.
The following examples illustrate how these visits were utilised for tourism promotion: in Australia, the President accompanied by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, participated at a highly successful lunch event in Sydney organised by Tourism Ireland for the tourism trade interests in that market. In Seoul, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Tom Parlon, launched Tourism Ireland's website, which is now available in Korean for the first time ever. In South Africa, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, spoke at a tourism breakfast organised by Tourism Ireland for the tourism trade in that market. In the US, I understand that Ministers travelling to this vital tourism market utilised the comprehensive briefing and speaking points provided by my Department at every available opportunity. In the current uncertainty in the international tourism market, particularly the US market, these visits were particularly useful in getting the message out that Ireland is open for tourism business and that the welcome is as warm as ever.
I travelled to Britain, our largest tourism market, in the lead up to St. Patrick's Day to participate in a series of tourism promotions, including the official opening of the new Tourism Ireland offices in London, where I was joined by the Minister responsible for tourism in Northern Ireland, Mr. Ian Pearson, MP. I also travelled to Edinburgh to participate at the St. Patrick's Day celebrations being organised by the Irish consulate on 14 and 15 March. Key tourism interests were represented at all the events I attended as part of this visit.
By way of follow-up to this extensive programme of overseas visits, my Department will shortly meet the Department of Foreign Affairs at official level to review the outcome of the programme in tourism terms and to see what further action might be taken to enhance the impact of such visits in the future.
