ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the Celtic Tiger and places the tourism industry within it. Due in large part to the pharmaceutical and computer hardware and software industries, foreign companies had by the turn of the century firmly become the driver of the Celtic Tiger and increasingly those firms were headquartered in the United States. The chapter shows that rather than being separate fromor lagging behind the dynamic industries within the Irish economy, tourism has been very much at the forefront. In 2007 international tourism to Ireland accounted for 4.91 billion, including carrier receipts on Irish carriers, as well as an additional 1.55 billion in domestic tourism. Beginning in 1980s government officials, along with private sector organizations, cited tourism as a sector to be targeted as a developmental priority. They successfully attracted EU structural funds and channeled public and private investment into refurbishing and expanding tourism accommodation, facilities, products and marketing in order to make the country a much more attractive destination.
