Tourism figures leave Hanafin optimistic sector has turned corner

THE TOURISM sector may have turned a corner, Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin said yesterday after the latest visitor numbers showed the smallest year-on-year decrease to date in 2010.

A total of 600,300 people visited Ireland in June, some 5.7 per cent less than in the same month last year, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Ms Hanafin said the June data suggested that “things are turning around for the tourism sector”.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation estimates that July, traditionally one of the busiest tourist months, will show a further improvement with visitor numbers expected to be 3 to 4 per cent down on 2009. Confederation chief executive Eamonn McKeon said reports from hotels, restaurants and airlines suggested that the industry may have bottomed out and could return to growth in the coming months.

Some 2.6 million people have visited Ireland so far this year, compared to 3.3 million in the same period last year. But the latest numbers suggest the sector – which saw a year-on-year fall off of almost 25 per cent in May and 30 per cent in April, partly because of the volcanic ash cloud – is beginning to stabilise.

The number of people travelling here from Britain, Ireland’s largest tourist market, was 3 per cent lower than in the same period last year at 252,900.

This was in contrast to a fall of almost 20 per cent recorded at the same time last year and a 30 per cent decline in travel from Britain in May of this year. The number of trips from North America (123,600) and other areas (35,800) increased by 1.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.

“Visitors from these markets are particularly important as they tend to book well in advance, stay longer and spend more than visitors from nearer markets who are on shorter breaks,” Ms Hanafin said.

The number of trips to Ireland from Europe, excluding Britain, fell by 14.4 per cent to 187,900. This was an improvement on the previous month when visitors from Europe fell by 20 per cent.

Irish residents took 657,200 overseas trips in June, 7.4 per cent less than in the same period last year, the CSO said.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said it was important to remember that people were currently booking holidays later than ever and that over 50 per cent of visitors arrive here between July and December.