Irish Tourism Numbers Continue To Grow

Newly-released figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have shown a 9.3% increase in the number of overseas visitors to Ireland for the first nine months of the year, when compared to the same period last year.

Other findings from the CSO revealed more than 5.9 million visits had been made to Ireland for the first nine months of 2014, with overseas trips to Ireland increasing by 7.9% in the three months from July to September alone.

Visits from Mainland Europe rose by 7.4% for January to September 2014, to 2.08 million visits, with visitor numbers from Germany increasing by 16.5%. Visits from Mainland Europe increased by 9.5% for the July to September period.

Those visiting from North America registered a surge of 13.9% for the nine-month period, to 1.06 million visits; from July to September, this increased by 18.1%.

Looking at Great Britain, visits were up by 8.5% over the last nine months to 2.4 million visits.

Visits from the rest of the world – which include mostly long-haul and developing markets – reached 370,000 for January to September 2014 the CSO reported, representing an increase of 10.8%. There was also an increase of 7.5% for the three months, from July to September.

Minister Donohoe said: "Our people, places and policies are delivering an exceptional experience for overseas visitors to Ireland; a fact which is reflected in today's figures.

"Obviously tourists are heeding the advice of publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, Rough Guide and, this week, Lonely Planet, who position Ireland as one of the most attractive tourist destinations on the planet.

"As good as the 2014 performance has been, however, I am seeking further improvement in 2015 and beyond.

He added: "I will shortly launch Tourism Ireland's marketing plans for 2015 and, before year end, I will publish a Tourism Policy Statement which will prioritise investment to maximise the return from tourism in the medium to long term."

(JP/MH)