ON THE face of it, Mr Mark Mortell has an easy task: as the new chairman of Bord Failte he takes over at a time when tourism is generating record revenues and the sector is now employing more than 120,000 people.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC), which represents businesses in the sector, says the industry is on course to achieve the national target of 29,000 extra jobs and revenues of £2.25 billion by the end of the decade.

Bord Failte in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Tourism Board has recently launched an all Ireland campaign to promote the island as a destination for high spending tourists. The move is part of a strategy by Bord Failte to "rebrand" Ireland, switching the emphasis from measuring tourism success in terms of volume of visitors to the amount each tourist spends on a holiday in Ireland.

For Mr Mortell, marketing and branding is what his career has been about. Just 35 years old, he is currently head of marketing at Bank of Ireland's Lifetime Assurance. Believed to be one of the youngest chairmen ever of a semi state company, if not the youngest, Mr Mortell brings considerable experience in branding and marketing to his new role.

He previously worked in Cantrell & Cochrane and Guinness where he was a brand manager, overseeing the launch of Furstenberg lager, and the relaunch of Smithwicks ale. He also worked with Ballygowan (he relaunched and redesigned the current mineral water bottles and labels) and he worked as a marketing manager with Mars Ireland. While at Mars he was involved in launching the successful Mars Ice cream bar.

This week, he takes on the Bord Failte chairmanship, anon executive position from outgoing chairman Padraig O hUiginn. He begins the year with a semi state company which has undergone much internal restructuring and refocusing of its role. Mr Mortell was appointed a director of Bord Failte by the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Mr Kenny, just three weeks ago, but it was always intended he would take over as chairman.

He has a strong Fine Gael background. In 1983 he was co opted onto Bray Urban District Council as a Fine Gael councillor. He was elected to Wicklow County Council in 1985, but resigned his seat in 1989. Always interested in politics, he is no longer active and says he knows Enda Kenny, but "while I might appear to have the right political credentials, I would rather think that I was appointed because of my professional knowledge".

Mr Mortell is no stranger to tourism issues. He has been chairman of the Overseas Tourism Marketing Initiative (OTMI), an independent management group which is answerable to the Government.

It promotes Irish tourism on a 32 county basis, raises monies from the tourism sector which is backed by generous EU funding, and targets four key markets - the US, Germany, France and Britain.

The OTMI's work has resulted in a considerable improvement in the number of tourists from these markets visiting Ireland and has provided Mr Mortell and others with a greater understanding of marketing, the Ireland brand. Selling Ireland to the Germans, for example, requires a completely different emphasis, from selling it to Americans, according to Mr Mortell.

He says he has a lot to learn about tourism and his new role as chairman but he believes passionately that tourism can become a great wealth contributor. At present, the sector is responsible for around 8 per cent of Gross National Product. He believes that it can contribute a lot more.

Although reluctant to put a precise figure on it, he acknowledges that it is "not unrealistic" that tourism could contribute as much as 12.5 per cent of GNP within a few years. However, he says plenty of work must be done, before this situation occurs.

Ireland is a major beneficiary of EU funding for tourism. There is concern in the industry that post 1999, this funding will be radically reduced, or will be virtually nonexistent. Mr Mortell says this is a vital issue, and that the industry and the Government will have to examine ways to replace funding, through various mechanisms, which could include tax breaks for private investors in different schemes.

He admits that to date it would appear" that there has been a large dependency on State funding. "We have to be as, creative and innovative as possible and we will need to take some brave and risky steps," he says, adding that the potential returns in terms of jobs and revenue from tourism is enormous - provided the product is right.

Mr Mortell believes Ireland can overcome reductions in EU funds if the State and the tourism sector can work together, to mutually agreed objectives.

It is a sentiment which is fully endorsed by the ITIC which will work this year with Bord Failte to produce a strategic plan for tourism. A reduction in funding is an issue which the ITIC says has not been given enough attention by the Government.

Another issue which Mr Mortell believes Bord Failte and the industry will have to address is the seasonality of tourism in Ireland. "The tourism season is very tight and needs to be spread out, we don't have to have all our tourists in the summer, because they don't come for the sun," he says.

Mr Mortell is concerned that tourism is too concentrated in certain regions of the country, especially along the east coast, and parts of the west. "Parts of the country, such as the north west, are not getting their fair share of tourism," he says.

However, he concedes that there may be no simple solution. It may be a question of lack of facilities, or infrastructure or a combination of several other issues, he says.

There is also the question of access to Ireland from other countries, and the impact the proposed abolition of duty free could have on increasing the cost of getting to Ireland.

Mr Mortell is under no illusions, he knows that the tourism bubble could burst. Ireland is also competing against tough opposition in all its markets. Competition from Britain and Spain is particularly intense, he says.

"Spain has done a remarkable job, repositioning itself from being a cheap holiday destination, to a country which has a huge variety of facilities to offer and things to do," he says.

So what does Ireland offer? "Well, we don't have the good weather, but we can offer city life versus solitude and peace and quiet, an unspoilt environment and very friendly people," he says.