Fáilte Ireland has announced its intention to boost the number of holidaymakers visiting the East and Midlands region by 18 per cent by 2010.

The tourism organisation’s three-year plan focuses on marketing the region – including the counties of Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow – around four themes: Lakeland, Equestrian Ireland, Beyond Dublin and Heritage Country.

By targeting different sectors aimed at specific tourist markets, Fáilte aims to increase tourism revenue by 12 per cent to e505m (£362.5m), and entice more than 900,000 visitors to the region by 2010.

Pierce Molony, chair of the organisation’s regional tourism development board, said: “The region has had a number of difficult years and our key priority is to reverse the loss of the regions share of overseas holiday visitors.

"We have set very ambitious targets, but are confident that they are achievable if both the private and public sectors work together, as the region has a number of very strong offerings.”