Trips to Ireland in August up 55,600
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office have shown that the number of visitors here rose by 4.5% this year.
Following a weak start to the year, the number of US tourists travelling here has also climbed.
The report also showed that Ireland continues to be an attractive destination for people from mainland Europe, with an increase of almost 15% in the numbers of European tourists for the year to date.
In August 2005 there were 878,400 overseas trips to Ireland, compared with 822,800 in August 2004, an increase of 55,600.
Between January and August this year there were 4,754,600 overseas trips to Ireland, an increase of 203,700 on the January-to-August 2004 total of 4,550,900.
The breakdown of visitors to Ireland by area of residence shows an increase of 54,600 in the number of visitors from Great Britain in the first eight months of this year.
The number of visitors from other European countries grew by 170,900 in the same period.
Trips to Ireland by residents of North America fell by 4,700 and the number of visitors from other areas fell by 17,300, compared with January-to-August 2004.
There were 642,800 overseas trips by Irish residents in August 2005, compared with 594,700 in August 2004, an increase of 48,100.
Between January and August of this year, there were 4,194,500 overseas trips by Irish residents, an increase of 506,400 on the first eight months of 2004.
