The Government is aiming to extend the tourist season through major investment in overseas promotion, the Minister for Enterprise and Tourism Peter Burke has said.
Mr Burke this morning set out his department's €4.7 billion capital investment strategy for the next five years.
The tourist season here should run from St Brigid's day to Halloween, Mr Burke said.
He is now promising a new era for Irish tourism, and in a veiled criticism of his predecessor in the role, the Green Party's Catherine Martin, he said there had been a lack of political direction to attract visitors from certain parts of the world.
It will be underpinned by more direct flights from several countries including Canada, the US, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Burke added that it was worrying that employment in the hospitality sector fell last year but the ambition is to now grow the industry by more than 6% annually.
The expenditure is part of the Government's National Development Plan.
Over €77 million will be made available to promote the country overseas especially in regions ignored in recent years.
It is expected the allocations will include €1.1bn to support home-grown enterprises, €400m for the tourism industry and €100m for large-scale sites for the development of the next generation of computer chips and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
A new initiative called 'Start up Ireland' to support Irish companies seeking to become global brands will be established.
There will also be €300m to aid firms to decarbonise, while €190m will be made available to quicken the adoption of AI technology.
