Trips to Ireland from the UK and North America have increased according to recent CSO figures. The figures for overseas trips to Ireland had increased by more than 123,000 (9.1%), in the period from November 2014 to January 2015 when compared with the same period 12 months previously.
It is considered that the figures represented a very positive start to 2015 ahead of the launch of Tourism Ireland’s global marketing campaign. The total number of trips to Ireland increased by 123,200 to 1,474,000 in the period, according to the new figures revealed by the CSO (Central Statistics Office).
Trips by residents of Britain increased by 9.6% to 694,500 while trips by residents of other European countries increased by 10.1 per cent to 476,000.
There was also significant growth in Ireland vacations from north American market also grew significantly, with a 10% increase in trips to 201,100 while trips to Ireland from other locations across the globe increased by 0.5% to 102,500.
The total number of overseas trips made by those residing in Ireland between November 2014 and January 2015 increased by 1,315,000 (9.8%). The total number of trips during that period increased by 9.5% to 2,789,100 in comparison to the same period 12 months previous.
Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, greeted the positive figures by saying:
“really pleased to see growth from all of our market areas around the world – including Britain, North America and Mainland Europe, all up more than 10%”.
“Following last year’s success, we will be pulling out all the stops this year, to keep the momentum going and ensure that 2015 is the best year ever for Irish tourism when we aim to welcome 7.74 million visitors – surpassing the previous record year of 2007.”