Bord Fáilte this evening welcomed the increased allocation for tourism marketing.
Acting chief executive, Mr Niall Reddy, said the €11 million extra allocated for the promotion of Irish tourism will assist efforts to bring back growth in 2002.
He said expanding regional tourism through festivals and cultural events, one of the agency’s priorities, would be targeted by the extra funding.
The reduction in employers’ PRSI would assist the viability of tourism enterprise, he added.