New policy aims to grow tourist numbers to 10 million

A new Government tourism policy aims to boost the number of overseas holidaymakers coming here to 10 million a-year by 2025 from 7.6 million last year.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, launched the new policy at Kilkenny Castle on Monday.

Its headline goals include increasing the number of overseas visitors coming here to 10 million by 2025 from 7.6 million last year

The document is predicting that the revenue generated by tourists will grow to €5 billion a-year from €3.5 billion over the same period.

It predicts that the number of people working in the industry will grow to 250,000 from 200,000 over the next decade.

According to a Government statement, the document, People, Place and Policy – Growing Tourism to 2025, shifts from a previous focus on simply growing the number of visitors to increasing what they spend.

“Overseas marketing will be targeted across a range of countries and market segments, focusing on the highest revenue potential while avoiding being too vulnerable to downturns in a few markets,” it says.