Ireland Back In The Top 20 Tourist Destinations

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed Ireland's return to the top 20 most competitive holiday destinations.

The country moved up two places to 19th position in the World Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index, having slipped out of the top 20 in 2011. The survey is conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

"We have spent the last two years working to renew Irish tourism and the wider economy, so it's great to get international recognition that Ireland has improved competitiveness in the tourism and travel sector.

"The World Economic Forum has confirmed that the Government, the tourism agencies and the tourism industry are putting the sector back on a sustainable path to growth," Minister Varadkar said.

The WEF report highlights Ireland's effectiveness in marketing the country overseas, placing Ireland in ninth place and ahead of key competitors like the UK, Spain and France. Ireland has also made significant improvements in terms of transport infrastructure.

Like Switzerland, which tops the WEF competitiveness rankings, Ireland performs less well in terms of Purchasing Power Parity and the price of fuel.

Minister Varadkar acknowledged that more needs to be done to keep prices down in order to maintain price competitiveness.

However, he added that Budget 2013 included a diesel rebate which will help to moderate the cost of operating tourism coaches.

Ireland also does well in terms of: Policy Rules and Regulations (4th place); Environmental Sustainability (9th); Human Resources (11th); Tourism Infrastructure (12th); and Safety and Security (12th). 

"This survey sends out a positive signal to the world about Ireland as a tourism destination. But it also provides very useful data for the Government. Assessments of competitiveness, like visitor satisfaction surveys, are an invaluable complement to the more traditional hard data on arrivals and spending, and help us to identify our strengths and weaknesses," Minister Varadkar said.