Fianna Fáil’s tourism and culture plan will help drive Cork’s recovery – Ahern

Growing the tourism industry is central to Fianna Fáil’s job creation plan and to Cork’s economic recovery, according to Cork East Fianna Fáil TD Michael Ahern.

“Our manifesto recognizes the strategic importance of tourism to Cork. I will work to maximise the potential of tourism to lead Cork’s economic recovery. Our plan to increase the number of overseas visitors to 8 million by 2015 will have huge benefits for our economy. We will make it as easy as possible for visitors to choose Ireland and Cork by ensuring that we have competitive airport and port charges, tourist-friendly visa arrangements and an aggressive and innovative marketing campaign.”

“We will focus on areas like food, golf and cultural tourism. We will work at developing our tourism revenue and we will take full advantage of the richness of our unique cultural and literary traditions. The Fianna Fáil manifesto recognizes the economic potential of the arts and culture in supporting enterprise and innovation.”

“From the beginning of this recession we have placed tourism and arts and culture at the centre of our plan for economic recovery. Fianna Fáil will continue to protect funding in these areas as they are vital both to our indigenous economy and our export-led growth,” Deputy Ahern concluded.