30 Minute Interview

'Direct flights from India to Dublin is our ultimate objective'

John O' Donoghue, TD Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism Ireland

Tourism Ireland is initiating a promotional campaign for the first time in India. Radhika Mathur Bhasin spoke to John O' Donoghue during his recent visit to India about his views on the tourism dynamics between the two countries and future plans

What is the tourism potential you see in India?

India has the potential of becoming the world's major economic power and a strong player in the next 15 to 20 years. It is therefore fair to assume that there is a considerable amount of opportunities in Ireland for India and vice versa. Ireland has a developed economy as well and it makes perfect sense for us to enhance our relationships in the field of business, tourism, culture and education.

How has tourism developed between the two countries?

We have now established a fully operational tourism office in Mumbai. We also have direct flights from Bahrain and Dubai into Dublin so Indian travellers no longer require UK visas to visit Ireland. Moreover, the large number of Indians who visit Britain each year can hop, skip and jump to Ireland in just 45 minutes by taking the numerous flights that connect England to Ireland.

What are your initial targets?

Ireland is a country with 5.2 million people and welcomes about 8.5 million visitors every year. It is difficult to gauge the exact volume from India but we understand it is quite low. Our pitch is to help the Indian market grow by 10 per cent every year.

What strategies are you putting in place for that?

Ireland is not a low cost, mass destination and we are primarily targeting the upmarket tourist segment. It is considered as one of the foremost golf destinations in the world and we are in the process of building a major international state-of-the-art conference centre in Dublin with a capacity to seat approximately 2,000 people. We are therefore encouraging the business traveller segment by offering the best accommodation facilities to both leisure and business travellers.

We are also initiating promotional packages and have earmarked about 2,00,000 euros for the Indian market. Initially, these packages will include four to five days coach tours in Ireland and we have tied up with major travel houses like Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings besides 20 agencies to promote them.

What about the Bollywood angle?

We are particularly keen to associate ourselves with the Indian film industry which is rated as the second largest in the world. We intend to invite Indian producers and film makers to shoot in Ireland. More than 75,000 visitors go to Switzerland from India each year which shows the impact films have in promoting tourism. We are also easing out visa regulations for Indians wanting to visit Ireland.

How has the Indian government responded to these initiatives?

The Indian government has been quite enthusiastic about our efforts and sees considerable opportunities for India in Ireland. Some independent Irish newspapers have already purchased a 25 per cent stake in The Hindu daily consortium which is the largest of its kind in India. Over 100 companies have shown interest in investing in India which will mutually benefit both the economies.

Are you considering a direct flight from India to Dublin?

This is our ultimate objective within the next five years. It took us about that much time to get ourselves our own national airline in conjunction with Emirates to fly from Bahrain, which is scheduled to commence from this March. Gulf Air is also flying to Ireland from Dubai. Globilisation has shifted our focus to long haul destinations.