Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring has described new figures showing a 7.3 per cent increase in visitor numbers this year as “phenomenal”.
“The combination of The Gathering, more flights into Ireland, better value for money, and the Government’s own initiatives have made 2013 a truly great year for tourism. These are phenomenal figures with increased visitor numbers from all our main markets, particularly from our higher spending long-haul markets,” Minister Ring said.
New CSO figures show more than over six million overseas visits to Ireland in the first 10 months of the year - an increase of 7.3 per cent on the corresponding period in 2012.
Minister Ring added: “I’m really pleased by the visitor numbers from Britain, which has been one of our most challenging markets in recent years. We had 12.2 per cent more visitors from Britain between July and September, compared to the same three months in 2012. Our launch of Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans next week will help us to continue getting the message out that there has never been a better time to visit Ireland.”
