Visits to Ireland continue to decline

The number of visitors to Ireland fell in the last quarter of 2010, as the tourist industry experienced one of its "most difficult years on record".

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed a decline of 2.2 per cent to just over 1.4 million in the number of tourists coming to Ireland over the three months. For 2010, visitors to Ireland fell by a total of 12.9 per cent compared to the previous year, with just over 6 million visitors coming here.

British visitors fell by 8.7 per cent in the last quarter of the year to 657,600, while visits from other European countries remained relatively unchanged at more than 477,000.

However, there was a 13.9 per cent rise in the number of visitors from North America, with more than 201,000 choosing to visit in the final quarter of the year.

Tourism Ireland said the figures showed a "strong turn-around".

"This is an encouraging basis on which Tourism Ireland will build in 2011 – the year we see as the turning point for tourism from overseas. Restoring the Great Britain market to growth is the top priority for Tourism Ireland in 2011," chief executive Niall Gibbons said.

“Overseas tourism has a critical role to play in contributing to Ireland’s economic recovery. Overseas tourism business accounts for 63 per cent - approximately €3 billion - of all tourism revenue and has the capacity to deliver even more for Ireland as part of an export-led economic renewal."

More than 200,000 people are employed in the tourism industry in Ireland.

The CSO also recorded a fall-off in the number of overseas trips taken by Irish people.

Data showed that Irish trips abroad fell to 1.32 million in the last three months of the year, a decline of 10 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier.

The latest decrease comes after a similar drop was recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.

In total, some 6,572,000 trips were taken overseas by Irish people last year, compared to more than 7 million in 2009.