Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed the ongoing increase in visitor numbers so far this year, and predicted annual growth in visitor numbers for the first time in four years.
The latest travel figures from the CSO for July to September 2011 show that over five million visitors came to Ireland in the first nine months of the year— an increase of 10 per cent on the same period in 2010.
For the first nine months of 2011: visitors from Great Britain were up by 7.4 per cent; mainland European visitors were up by 12.3 per cent; North American numbers were up by 10.6 per cent; and other long haul routes were up by 15 per cent.
Minister of State for Tourism Michael Ring said he was heartened to see that the trend for home holidays among Irish people continued during the year. “I think many Irish people who holidayed at home this year will have been surprised and delighted by what they found, in terms of the value and range on offer. I hope they will be persuaded to explore Ireland again in the coming years.”
Meanwhile, operators in the hospitality sector have been assured that the 9% VAT rate will remain in place throughout 2012.
“The 9% VAT rate will apply throughout 2012. The Government introduced the lower VAT rate of 9% earlier this year in the Jobs Initiative. This rate is significant because it principally benefits home-grown employers based in Ireland”, said Minister Varadkar.
“The vast majority of hotels, restaurants and leisure businesses are Irish-owned and any profits stay in Ireland. The lower VAT of 9% applies to these domestic businesses whose services and products are home-grown. It has been very successful in boosting the tourism industry, which is showing good signs of recovery, and in creating jobs.
“Many operators moved quickly to pass the VAT cut on to their customers following its introduction. It has benefited the tourism industry by helping businesses to expand their operations or take on additional staff”.
