READY TO ANSWER some challenging questions about the future of the Irish tourist industry?

That’s what Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring are looking for members of the public, the tourism industry and tourists to do.

People are being invited to contribute their ideas on future plans for Ireland’s tourism industry in a new Government initiative launched today.

This is the first time this has been done since New Horizons back in 2003, and this time around it involves a consultation and question paper.

This paper asks people to answer “challenging questions about the future of Irish tourism”.

The consultation document has 20 topics on which views and submissions are invited. These include:

• Where our priority country markets should be
• What should the balance of spending be among marketing, events and attractions
• How we can build on the success of the Gathering
• How can be best harness local authorities, communities, business to support tourism
• How should we measure success, visits or revenue.

Minister Varadkar said that tourism has moved “from crisis mode two years ago, firmly into recovery mode now”.

He added: “With the success of The Gathering, a significant increase in overseas visits for three years in a row and a good summer for domestic tourism behind us, we now must ask ourselves, what next?”

Varadkar said he wants this “to be the most far-reaching review of Irish tourism policy review in years”. Minister Ring said that they “want to hear from everybody on this”.

Copies of the document will be available on the website of the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and submissions can be emailed to tourismpolicy@dttas.ie or sent by post to: Tourism Policy, Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport, 44 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Submissions should be sent by 1 November 2013.

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