Irish visits abroad fall 7% in second quarter, says CSO

THE NUMBER of visits abroad made by Irish people fell 7 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released yesterday.

The decline represents the first time since 1991 that the number of trips abroad by Irish residents has fallen for the April-June period.

There were 1,900,000 visits overseas during the three months, and the average length of stay for an Irish trip abroad was 8.5 nights. The majority of trips (1,105,000) were made to the Continent, down from 1,238,000 in the same quarter last year.

The number of visits to Ireland fell 12 per cent in the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2008. During the April-June period, 1,902,000 overseas visits were made to Ireland compared to 2,159,000 in the same period of 2008. Trips for holiday, leisure and recreation purposes fell 20 per cent. The largest drop in overseas visits to Ireland was from Britain and other areas, falling 16 per cent. The number of trips made by residents of other European states fell 10 per cent, while visits from the US and Canada fell 29 per cent, compared to the second quarter of 2008.

There was a net outflow of €469 million in spending. Earnings from visitors to Ireland were €1.1 billion, while €1.6 billion was spent by Irish visitors abroad.

The statistics show the number of nights spent in hotels fell by 25 per cent. However, the average length of stay by visitors to the State increased to nine nights from 7.6 nights.

In June, the CSO reported the number of trips taken abroad over the first three months of 2009 fell by 13 per cent, while the number of visitors to Ireland in the first quarter declined by 9 per cent.

In response to the figures, Tourism Ireland said 2009 has been one of the most difficult years for the tourism industry and that an €18 million autumn marketing campaign would be run overseas.Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said: “These CSO figures reflect the impact on Ireland and the tough year tourism businesses across the island are experiencing.”