Tourist spend in State increases by €300m in 2014 to €3.5bn

Visitors to the Republic spent more than €3.5 billion this year, almost €300 million more than in 2013.

The number of overseas tourists grew by 9 per cent to 7.3 million in 2014, the highest number since 2008, with the largest numbers of visitors coming from the US, Canada and Germany.

The Irish tourism industry employs more than 200,000 people, with 5,000 jobs added in the past year and 8,000 more expected in 2015, Eamonn McKeon, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) told a press briefing.

He said North American visitors generated an estimated €120 million more in 2014 than the previous year.

Long-haul markets

Mr McKeon said travellers could be able to fly direct from Beijing to Dublin within three years.

He said he hopes that the joint British-Irish visa scheme, which was introduced in October and allows visitors from countries such as India and China to visit Ireland on a UK visa, will encourage increased interest from these developing markets.

Paul Carty, chairman of ITIC, said the principal tourism growth in 2015 will come from “long-haul markets” and the Irish industry must learn to cater to the needs of tourists from “developing economies”.

The ITIC has called on the Government to invest €250 million in Irish tourism over the next five years. The Government’s decision to maintain the 9 per cent VAT rate on tourism services and the suspension of the air travel tax will help boost Ireland’s competitiveness, said Mr McKeon.

Meanwhile, figures released this week show 1.1 million people visited the Cliffs of Moher in 2014, breaking the one million mark for the first time.