The number of visitors to the Republic has increased by 129 per cent in 10 years, making Ireland the fastest-growing tourism destination in the European Union, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, said yesterday.
Speaking at the National Landscape Forum in St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Co Kildare, the Minister said Irish tourism was now facing the challenges of its success.
The growth in tourism was forecast to continue into the new century, he said. In economic terms, this was a very welcome prospect, with positive implications for wealth generation and employment. "But it also brings new challenges which will have to be addressed satisfactorily if the longer-term future of our tourism industry is to be assured," Dr McDaid warned.
"I am acutely aware that the beauty of our landscapes is at the heart of our attraction as a tourist destination," he said.
In the past, because of low population density, and absence of traditional heavy industries and low intensity farming, there was a tendency to take the strong environmental position for granted. Tourism could be a very positive force in environmental conservation, and equally, conservation itself was of crucial importance in the future success of tourism.
In 1988, 2.4 million overseas visitors came to Ireland, while last year there were 5.5 million. In 1988, tourism provided 68,000 jobs, whereas today it provided 126,700 full-time job equivalents or 8.2 per cent of all jobs.
The landscapes would not be protected or developed in a sustainable manner unless there was informed public participation in the independent planning process.