Irish people spent more money while on overseas trips than foreign visitors spent here in 2004, according to latest travel statistics that show an increasing demand for foreign travel.
The data on tourism and travel published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveal there were 6,574,000 visits made to Ireland in the year 2004, compared with 6,369,000 in 2003, an increase of 3 per cent.
In the same year Irish residents made 5,409,000 visits overseas, an increase of 10 per cent.
The expenditure figures show visitors to Ireland spent €4,076 million, while the Irish spent €4,180 million abroad.
The weak dollar and buoyant Irish economy boosted Irish travel on transatlantic routes by 19 per cent, and increased competition among low cost airlines saw the number trips to Continental Europe grow by 12 per cent in 2004.
The number of overseas visits to Ireland from North America in 2004 was 977,000 compared with 904,000 in 2003, an increase of 8 per cent, although still down on the figure of 1,043,000 in 2000.
The number of bednights spent in Ireland by overseas visitors in 2004 dropped by 1 per cent when compared with the 2003 figure.
The average length of stay of overseas visitors to Ireland during 2004 was 7.5 nights. This compares with an average of 8.5 nights for Irish visits abroad.