The president of the Irish Hotels Federation has welcomed the news that the Shannon and mid-west region is set to benefit from Budget 2008 in the areas of tourism, infrastructure and energy conservation.

Annette Devine said that budget provisions were "aimed at reaffirming consumer confidence" and key to "maintaining a strong and growing economy".

"The allocation of €5m towards rebranding the Irish tourism product and a tourism initiative specifically for the Shannon and western region is welcomed, she said.

"In relation to the Shannon region, the challenge is now to immediately roll out actions to urgently boost the Shannon and Westerns regions' attractiveness as a destination to visit.

The €4.5m to further improve the services provided by Fáilte Ireland is also welcomed." She added that improved roads will also benefit tourism throughout the country.

"We welcome the Government's commitment to the delivery of the infrastructural improvements in the National Development Plan. The €74m allocation for national road improvements and €45m for non-national roads will facilitate a better spread of tourism throughout the country," she said. There will also be more capital funding for energy conservation across the board.

"The federation welcomes the €13m capital fund for range of initiates to promote new technologies and increase awareness energy efficiencies," Ms Devine said.

The IHF maintains that tourism is Ireland's most important indigenous industry by generating over €6 billion annually for the economy, of which €2.8 billion goes to the exchequer and represents 3.8% of Gross National Product.

The IHF recently began its international marketing drive for next year with the launch of the 2008 'Be Our Guest Guide', which features many local and regional listings.

The guide is Ireland's largest tourist accommodation listing, featuring almost 1,000 hotels and guesthouses from every county.

Over 350,000 guides will be distributed in 22 countries in the coming months to try to attract tourists to the mid-west and the Emerald Isle.

Ms Devine emphasised that Ireland hosted over seven million overseas visitors this year and expressed hope that this success would continue.

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