Fáilte Ireland has been asked to organise an international tourism conference on the theme of competitiveness as part of Ireland's presidency of the EU, Mr John O'Donoghue, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, has said.
Policy measures such as taxation initiated at EU level had "a clear impact on tourism", Mr O'Donoghue said in his address at the meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs in Clonakilty, Co Cork.
Other EU policies which affected tourism included transport, consumer protection as well as those on the environment.
Mainland Europe, which provided 1.4 million tourists in 2002, was Ireland's third biggest market after Britain and the US, and an extra marketing drive this year had yielded an increase of 6 per cent of visitor numbers from Germany in the first six months, despite the fact that outbound tourism in Germany was down.
When it came to the top tourism spenders in the world, the continental Europeans ran a very close second to the Americans.
The Germans alone spent €50 billion each year on outbound tourism. The potential for further growth in the market on the Irish doorstep was "immense", he said.
Surveys had shown a deterioration in visitor perceptions of the value on offer, particularly with respect to drink, food and eating out.
However, for overseas tourists, the quality of the holiday experience, the friendliness of the people and scenery were other major issues and Ireland scored highly on these.