Fáilte Ireland ("Ireland's Welcome")
is the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 and replaces and builds upon the functions of BordFáilte, its predecessor organization. Fáilte Ireland's current CEO is Shaun Quinn
Note: Fáilte Ireland work in partnership with Tourism Ireland (who promote Ireland as a holiday destination to overseas markets) and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (responsible for tourism development and marketing in Northern Ireland)
Name
Being composed of an Irish word and an English word, the meaning of the name of this organization is a little unclear. Although the enabling Act mentions only[1] that the "...Authority may, for operational purposes, describe itself as Fáilte Ireland", the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism refers to the authority in Irish as FáilteÉireann.[2] This suggests the intended meaning is "Ireland's Welcome".
In reality, BordFáilte meant 'Welcome Board', 'fáilte' being a greeting in Gaeilge that means 'welcome'. Fáilte Ireland cannot be translated as it is a brand name.
Activities
The goal of Fáilte Ireland is to provide strategic and practical support in developing and sustaining Ireland as a high-quality and competitive tourist destination. Fáilte Ireland works in partnership with tourism interests to support the industry in its efforts to be more profitable and to help individual tourist enterprises enhance their performance.
Its activities fall into four areas:
- Tourism Marketing: provides marketing support and a range of cost-efficient promotional opportunities for Irish product providers, marketing groups, tour operators, handling agents, and other tourism interests as well as visitor services to consumers. Fáilte Ireland's "Festivals and Cultural Events Initiative" and "Sports Tourism Initiative" fall under this heading.
- Education & Training: to encourage, promote and support the recruitment, training, and education and development, of persons for the purpose of employment in the tourism industry. Fáilte Ireland also promotes and engages in research and planning in relation to any matter relating to tourism.
- Product Development: provides support for selective capital investment in tourism product encourages new and innovative products and areas of service.
- Research and Statistics: provides overviews of tourism performance and profiles all aspects of tourism development to provides a knowledge base to guide industry development and services.
Tourism FactsFáilte Ireland, in collaboration with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), publishes detailed statistics on Irish tourism, activities and visitor attractions for both domestic and overseas markets.
Annual Tourism Facts
Our annual tourism facts feature statistics and detailed information about tourism in Ireland. Browse currently available publications by year, from 2004 to date.
Overseas Markets
Fáilte Ireland publishes data on overall overseas market trends, as well as for specific overseas visitor groups.
Domestic Market
Domestic tourism research by Fáilte Ireland provides data on the trips taken within Ireland by Irish residents and the associated expenditure.
Tourism Activities
Research data on activity tourism features information about overseas and domestic usage of products including cycling, golf, angling and walking.
Accommodation
Tourism facts provide an overview of research for the accommodation sector, including separate publications for accommodation types and capacity by county.
Visitor Attractions
Research data on visitor numbers to Irish attractions, including attractions that are free to visitors and those that charge an admission fee, is available year by year from 2003 to date
Organisational Structure
Fáilte Ireland was formed in 2003 under the National Tourism Development Authority Act to guide and promote tourism as a significant driver of the Irish economy. We provide both strategic and practical support to develop and sustain this country as a high-quality and competitive tourist destination.
With a dedicated team working across five regions, Fáilte Ireland acts as a corporate resource for tourism professionals and service providers at local, regional and national levels. We provide those involved, or considering becoming involved in Irish tourism, with a one-stop-shop to meet their business or professional needs.
The Fáilte Ireland Authority (Board) comprises a Chairperson and 12 Members, appointed by the Minister for Tourism. The Chief Executive of Fáilte Ireland is Shaun Quinn and the organisation has four directorates:
- Strategic Development: Developing Ireland as a destination through long term plans for our people, places, products and policies.
- Market Development: Developing Ireland as a high quality tourism destination through our home holiday’s campaign, overseas promotions, familiarisation trips, business tourism, sporting and cultural events and tourist information.
- Enterprise Development: Working hand in hand with the tourism industry and other key stakeholders to develop and provide a wide range of business supports and advice to develop tourism for the future.
- Corporate Development: Ensuring Fáilte Ireland has the necessary internal structures to continue in the areas of strategic, market and enterprise development.
Fáilte Ireland also runs an extensive domestic holiday campaign encouraging Irish people to take a holiday at home. As part of this campaign, Fáilte Ireland operates the consumer website www.DiscoverIreland.ie, which features comprehensive information and listings for Irish accommodation, activities, events, tourist attractions and Irish holiday special offers and is supported by a comprehensive home holiday media campaign.
