MINISTER FOR Tourism Mary Hanafin says she is confident tourism will return to growth next year after figures showed the number of visitors to Ireland was down 15.7 per cent in the first nine months of the year.
The latest overseas travel figures were published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.
In the period July to September, the number of foreign trips to Ireland fell by 8.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2009. Trips by British residents were down 10.8 per cent to 852,600.
Trips from other European countries and North America fell by 7.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively, while those from other areas increased by 2.7 per cent to 110,200.
Ms Hanafin said it was important to recognise that more than 4.6 million visitors came to Ireland between January and September, with “hugely positive benefits” for the economy.
Noting the decrease of 8 per cent for the third-quarter period, Ms Hanafin said: “While any decrease is disappointing, it should be remembered that earlier months of 2010 saw significantly higher levels of reductions.”