New figures show a 5 per cent increase in the number of overseas visitors to the Republic in the first 11 months of last year.
The Central Statistics Office overseas travel statistics for the month of November 2007 showed almost 7.5 million overseas visitors came to Ireland in the year to that date.
Visitors from mainland Europe were up by almost 15 per cent, from the US by 2 per cent and from Britain by 0.3 per cent.
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Séamus Brennan said he was "very heartened" by the latter figure, as the British market had been "particularly challenging recently due to economic factors and poor weather conditions during the summer".
Also, in the first 11 months of 2007, trips abroad by Irish residents increased by 11.9 per cent over the corresponding period in 2006.
Meanwhile, yesterday the online tourist information booking system Gulliver Ireland said it was "massively expanding" its regional B&B content on its marketing website and would help develop internet sales skills for members.
The announcement comes amid concerns about under-performance by the traditional B&B.
Fáilte Ireland recently identified B&Bs and hostels as the only sectors to report a downturn in business in 2007, a growth year for other accommodation. The sector also lost out the previous two years.
Managing director of Gulliver Ireland, Dr Stewart Stephens, warned against "talking down" the B&B sector.
Ireland had a superb B&B product, which must be promoted effectively online, he said.
"The B&B product is the experience.
"All the ingredients are in place on the ground but do not exist online where most holiday research takes place," he added.