Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office show a huge boost in tourism during 2017, with almost 3 million trips made to the Emerald Isle between April and June this year.
Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 281,000 people across the island.
In 2016, we welcomed approximately 10.3 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of about €5.3 billion.
2,769,000 trips were made to Ireland between April and June this year, an increase from the 2,599,000 trips made in the same period last year.
Most tourists come from Britain, the USA and Canada, and mainland Europe.
Tourists are staying for a slightly shorter amount of time, as on average tourists stayed for 6.7 nights last summer, and stayed 6.6 nights this summer.
The total earnings from tourism and travel has increased by a massive 13.4% between last summer and this summer, increasing from €1,655 million to €1,876 million. Tourists are spending more, as when fares are excluded the total expenditure increased from €1,261 million to €1,408 million.
There has been an increase in Irish residents going abroad for a holiday, 2,119,000 trips were made outside of Ireland this summer compared to 1,975,000 trips last year. Irish people spent an average of 6.8 nights abroad this summer, down slightly from 7.1 nights in the same period last year.
However Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, is concerned about the decrease in the amount of Britons holidaying in Ireland due to Brexit.
“The decline in visitor numbers from Britain continues to be a real concern. The fall in the value of sterling has made holidays and short breaks here more expensive for British visitors and, at the same time, made Britain more affordable for visitors from many of our top markets,” he said.
“While we can see the impact of currency changes in today’s CSO results, which confirm a decline of -6% in British visitors in the first half of the year, revenue from the market has held up somewhat better.
“This year, Tourism Ireland has placed greater focus on ‘culturally curious’ visitors from Britain, who stay longer and spend more, because they are less impacted by currency fluctuations. However, competitiveness and value for money messages are more important than ever right now,” he added.
“Earlier this week, we announced Tourism Ireland’s extensive autumn campaign, to promote late season holidays and boost travel into the early part of 2018. On the back of an increasingly strong access picture, we are rolling out a really comprehensive promotional programme around the world. We are working in close co-operation with industry partners across the island of Ireland, as well as with a wide range of international tour operators and with major air and sea carriers.
“Next month, I will also lead another delegation of Irish tourism industry leaders to London for roundtable meetings with key players in the British travel trade. We will discuss how Tourism Ireland and the tourism industry can best respond to the challenges posed by Brexit as we plan for 2018 and beyond,” he concluded.
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