Overseas trips down in January

THE NUMBER of overseas trips taken by Irish residents dropped by more than 8 per cent in January compared with the same month last year.

Figures published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office showed there were 502,100 overseas trips by Irish residents in that month, compared with 548,400 in January 2008, an 8.4 per cent decline.

The figures also reveal a fall in overseas trips to Ireland. There were 424,200 overseas trips to the State in January 2009, a drop of nearly 3 per cent compared to January 2008. Visits from Britain comprised almost all of this decrease, dropping by almost 16,000 (7 per cent) to 208,300.

The number of overseas visits to Ireland during January from the United States was 41,800, while the number from Poland was 24,500.

Elsewhere, however, visits by residents of other European countries and North America posted slight increases, to 149,500 and 45,200, respectively, according to the CSO.