The number of overseas visitors to the State exceeded six million for the first time last year, according to figures issued yesterday by the Central Statistics Office.
Foreign exchange earnings are expected to reach £2.5 billion, making 1999 the most successful year for Irish tourism.
The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, yesterday welcomed the 6 per cent increase in foreign visitors. "While this growth in percentage terms is very impressive, its impact is even greater when you realise that it represents an actual increase of more than 350,000 additional visitors last year alone."
Dr McDaid stressed that tourism was now one of the State's biggest industries, providing over 135,000 jobs, with 52,000 of these created since 1990.
He said the strong dollar and sterling would help to attract additional visitors this year and lead to a further increase. Bord Failte has predicted growth of 6 per cent in visitor numbers and 7 per cent in total foreign revenue for the current year.
However, the Minister yesterday warned the public not to become complacent with current success and he stressed the importance of giving a "Cead Mile Failte" to visitors.
British tourists remain the most frequent visitors to Ireland, with figures growing by over 5 per cent last year to an all-time high of 3.5 million. The number of US visitors increased by 10 per cent to almost 950,000.
Overall visitor numbers from mainland Europe increased by 5.5 per cent to over 1.3 million. Tourism revenue for the first nine months of 1999 showed levels of almost £2 billion, a growth of 9 per cent on the same period in 1998.
According to Dr McDaid, when the full 1999 figures for revenue become available they will show foreign exchange earnings reached £2.5 billion. The Minister said one reason for the increase in visitors could be the ease of access to the country and the fact that indigenous airlines were "now taking on competition". Around half of all visitors tended to stay in Dublin on short breaks or "city hops".
"Our problem is when people get to Dublin they are asking: `Where do we go from here?' We must highlight to people that there are other places besides Dublin, Killarney, Connemara, which tend to roll off the tip of the tongue," he said.
According to Dr McDaid, Bord Failte should now concentrate on marketing the regions in the same way they previously advertised Ireland as a destination. "If I was to write a prescription I would say that Ireland can be the antidote of European stress. But in order to do that we really have to get tourists out into the regions," he added.