North American and British visits decline

THE NUMBER of overseas visitors to Ireland from Britain and North America fell dramatically during October, according to new Central Statistics Office figures.

Overall, 662,000 visitors entered the country during the month, virtually unchanged compared to October 2007.

The number of visitors from North America declined by 12.1 per cent in October versus the same month in 2007. A total of 76,800 people visited from North America during October 2008, as against 87,400 in the same period in the previous year.

Visitors from Britain fell by 7.1 per cent, from 348,600 in October 2007 to 323,700 in October 2008.

The declines were offset by a 15 per cent rise in the number of trips taken by residents from other European countries.

Fine Gael said the latest figures point to a "catastrophic" fourth quarter for the tourism sector.

"Overall trips to Ireland are already down 1.2 per cent for the year to October, but the real worry is that the numbers visiting from our major markets, the UK and United States, are collapsing," said the party's tourism spokeswoman, Olivia Mitchell.

She claimed the "perverse" decision to increase VAT and introduce a departure tax would only serve to make matters worse.

"The VAT hike will see us lose business from British visitors, with members across the tourism sector already saying they have seen a sharp decrease in the number of visitors from the UK. Considering that these visitors are also generally high spenders, a loss in the numbers coming to Ireland is a double-blow," said Ms Mitchell.

"Fianna Fáil's 'departure tax' is similarly a daft idea, that represents nothing but an attack on tourism that will be counterproductive in raising revenue for the exchequer," she added.

Overseas trips by Irish residents fell by 4.6 per cent to 639,500 in October 2008, compared to the 670,100 recorded for October in 2007. This contrasts with a growth rate of just over 13 per cent in October 2007 compared to 2006. In the first 10 months of 2008, the total number of overseas trips by Irish residents rose by 3.5 per cent to 6,881,000, compared to the same period in 2007.