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Ireland launches tourism action plan for 2016-2018

Xinhua, January 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ireland on Thursday launched a tourism action plan for the period 2016-2018, which sets out 23 key actions required in order to secure continued growth in overseas tourism revenue and employment.

Among the issues covered in the tourism action plan include a restoration of overseas tourism marketing funds to pre-recession levels, and a commitment to improving the presentation of and access to state-owned heritage and cultural attractions.

The action plan also includes the extension to 2018 of a fund to encourage direct air and sea access to airports and ferry ports in the regions.

Last year, Ireland published a 10-year tourism strategy, which sets out three headline targets to be achieved by 2025: overseas tourism revenue of 5 billion euros per year excluding air fares or ferry charges; 250,000 people employed in tourism compared to 205,000 at present, underpinned by 10 million overseas visits to Ireland per year.

Thursday's action plan will provide the foundation for achievement of the 2025 targets, the government said.

The year 2015 was a record year for tourism with about 7.9 million visitors, an increase of 11 percent on 2014 figures. This rise brought over 4.2 billion euros in revenue to the economy, according to government figures. Endit