Visitor numbers to Ireland rise, says CSO figs
There were 1,428,000 overseas visits made to Ireland in the final quarter of 2004, up 5% on 2003, CSO figures revealed said today.
The number of overseas visits to Ireland by residents of Great Britain fell by 0.2% while the number of visits by residents of other European countries increased by 17.5% on the same quarter in 2003.
The number of visits by residents of the USA and Canada grew by 5.9% on the fourth quarter of 2003.
The number of overseas visits to Ireland by residents of other areas grew from 60,000 in 2003 to 70,000 in 2004.
The number of bed nights spent in Guest House/B&B’s fell by 9.9% while the number of bed nights spent in hotels increased by 6.7%.
The number of Irish visits abroad between October and December 2004 was 1,190,000, an increase of 10.8% on the corresponding period in 2003.
Irish residents travelling abroad on cross-channel sea routes grew by 8.3% on the corresponding figure for 2003. The number travelling on continental routes grew by 19.6%.
The number of Irish residents travelling on transatlantic routes was 28.6% higher than in the same period of 2003.
