Number of UK tourists coming to Ireland rises despite Brexit fears

Nearly 300,000 extra trips to Ireland were made between July and September 2016 compared to the same period last year with visits by people from Britain on the rise despite fears over Brexit.

As the sterling continues to fall in the aftermath of UK voters’ decision to leave the EU, many tourism bodies across Ireland had warned of the significant threat Brexit posed to our tourism sector.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation lobby warned in August that Brexit’s “two-pronged challenge” - making the UK cheaper and Ireland more expensive for British tourists – would require a swift and decisive response.

There were fears that American tourists could be tempted to visit London and Scotland rather than Ireland as sterling loses value, while UK visitors would find it too expensive to holiday here.

However, the latest data from the Central Statistics Office shows that trips by residents from Britain rose by 9.3 per cent to 1,148,500 between July and September of this year.

More than 3 million trips were made to Ireland between July and September 2016, a notable rise from 2,770,900.

The number of tourists visiting from other European countries increased by 10 per cent in the same time period, while trips by visitors from North America increased by 15.9 per cent to 637,500.

Trips by tourists from ‘other areas’ rose by 3.7 per cent to 190,200 between July and September with an overall increase in visitors to Ireland of 290,600.

In the nine months to the end of September 2016, the total number of trips to Ireland by overseas visitors increased by 12 per cent when compared with 2015.

The lastest figures show that September 2016 was the best ever month of September for Irish tourism, according to Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons. He added that January to September 2016 was the best ever period for overseas visitors to Ireland with almost 7.5 million arrivals.

Chief executive of Fáilte Ireland Shaun Quinn warned that despite the positive rise in numbers visiting Ireland, the State must ensure that “it’s not our last good year and we sustain growth in the sector - particularly given the challenges of a post-Brexit context”.

Fáilte Ireland’s latest research already shows some softening in the British market which indicates that tourism businesses may need to plan for a changing trading environment, said Mr Quinn.

“Not only must the Irish tourism sector remain competitive but those businesses highly dependent on the British market should now plan for a greater emphasis on the still lucrative and more stable European market.”

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said preparations for the impact of Brexit would continue at “both political and official level so that we are ready for the challenges which it may bring for Irish tourism”.

Meanwhile, trips made by Irish residents abroad during the same time period only rose 3 per cent with 2,253,900 residents going overseas. The CSO reported in August that more Irish people were taking holidays in Ireland this year although travel abroad did continue to increase.

The UK and Spain remain the most population destinations for Irish travellers followed by North America and France.