Sharp fall in number of overseas visitors

THE NUMBER of overseas visitors to Ireland fell by 7 per cent in July, August and September compared to the same three-month period last year.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office published yesterday reveal that there were 2,472,000 visits to Ireland during the third quarter, down from 2,646,000 in 2007. At the same time, the number of trips taken abroad by Irish citizens rose by 13 per cent.

The number of visitors from Britain from July to September fell by 9 per cent to 1,149,000 while trips from residents of the US and Canada showed a fall of 8 per cent to 357,000.

Visits by residents of European countries (excluding Britain) fell by the largest percentage since the third quarter of 2001, the data reveals. The total number of visits from European citizens declined by 4 per cent to 840,000 compared to the same quarter last year.

On a brighter note, visits by residents from outside of the US, Canada and Europe increased by 12 per cent to 126,000 compared to July to September 2007.

The latest figures indicate that visitors coming to Ireland for recreational reasons fell 11 per cent over the year while the number of nights that tourists spent in hotels declined by 1 per cent.

The number of nights that business travellers spent in hotels declined even further with a 13 per cent fall during the quarter.

Earnings from visitors to Ireland accounted for €1,734 million while expenditure by Irish visitors abroad amounted to €2,366 million during the quarter, resulting in a net outflow of €632 million.

The number of trips abroad by Irish citizens increased by just over 3 per cent to 2,428,000 from July to September.

Transatlantic trips grew by 13 per cent from 126,000 to 142,000 while cross-channel journeys rose 13 per cent.

Earlier this week, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) warned that the outlook for next year was "gloomy", with a 7 or 8 per cent drop in visitors likely.