IRELAND HAD 110,400 fewer overseas visitors in January 2010 than in the same month last year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The 26 per cent fall in tourists making visits to Ireland is largely attributable to a decline in the number of trips made by British visitors.
The number of visitors from Britain declined by 65,900 to 142,400, a drop of 31.6 per cent.
The treacherous weather conditions experienced in Britain which resulted in widespread airport closures and authorities discouraging unnecessary travel at the beginning of the year “certainly impacted on visitor numbers”, according to Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.
“We are very much aware that the first quarter of 2010 has been extremely difficult and CSO figures for January reflect the impact on Ireland and on tourism businesses across the island,” he said.
The number of trips to Ireland by visitors from European countries declined 29.7 per cent, while the number of visitors from North America fell by 2.2 per cent.
Trips made by visitors from Poland and France declined by 7,800 and 7,000 respectively.
Irish people made 448,900 overseas trips in January 2010, a 10.6 per cent fall on the numbers that travelled in January 2009.
Ryanair again called for an end to the €10 departure levy on passengers claiming 4 million fewer passengers (a 13 per cent slump) travelled through Irish airports in its first year.
The airline said its traffic had grown strongly in countries “which don’t tax tourists”.
A spokesman for the airline said: “Ireland cannot grow tourism by taxing tourists and raising airport charges.”