Overseas visitors to Ireland increased by 12.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures published yesterday.
The figures show 2,040,800 trips were made to Ireland in the first four months of 2006, compared to 1,810,400 in the first four months of 2005. Over 25 per cent more visitors came this April than they did in April 2005. A spokesperson for the CSO said the large increase could be partially attributed to the fact that Easter fell early this year.
Visitor numbers from Britain, other European countries and North America all show increases. Visits from Britain rose again after last year's drop, with exactly 12 per cent more travellers from Britain.
The figures show 45,600 more visitors from other European countries visited Ireland in April 2006 than they did in April of last year. In 2005, there was a 10 per cent drop in visitors from North America. But this year's figures show that visitor numbers from the US and Canada are beginning to increase again. Almost 2 per cent more Americans and Canadians made trips to Ireland in the first four months of the year.
But taken separately from the US, visitor numbers from Canada have dropped. Exactly 9,700 Canadians visited in the first quarter of this year as opposed to 12,800 in the same period in 2005.
Almost 13,000 fewer Australian people came to Ireland. French visitor numbers also dropped - by over 20,000 - but trips by Germans have increased by almost 30, 000.
Recent immigration trends have influenced visitor numbers, with relatives coming to visit family members in Ireland.
A comparison of this year's first-quarter figures with last year's shows that visitor numbers from Poland have doubled. Over 33,000 more Polish people visited Ireland from January to April this year.
The CSO's review of inward and outward travel shows that 1,890,700 Irish people travelled abroad in the first quarter, a rise of 14.2 per cent on a year earlier.
Tourism Ireland welcomed yesterday's figures, saying they show a more positive beginning to the season than in recent years. "With events such as the Ryder Cup playing in Ireland's favour, the outlook is certainly more positive, but there is still some way to go," said chief executive Paul O'Toole.
January - April 2006
Britain 1,193,200
USA 207,800
Germany 92,200
France 71,840
Italy 58,300
Poland 55,600
The Netherlands 42,200
*Other EU nations 35,500
Spain 28,920
Australia 20,400
*Refers to Cyprus, Malta, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Luxembourg