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Ireland sees 12.8 pct growth in overseas visits in first 10 months

Xinhua, November 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The latest figures, released on Wednesday from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), showed an increase of 12.8 percent in overseas visits to Ireland for the first 10 months of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014.

The CSO figures also showed that for the three-month period from August to October 2015, overseas trips to Ireland increased by 14 percent.

Visits from mainland Europe grew by 14.1 percent for January to October 2015 and by 16.9 percent for the August to October period.

North America registered an increase of 13.3 percent for January to October 2015 and of 10.6 percent in the August to October 2015 period.

Visits from Britain were up by 11.3 percent for January to October 2015 and by 11.8 percent for the three months from August to October 2015 compared to the corresponding period of 2014.

Visits from the rest of the world represented an increase of 13.5 percent percent and increased by 23.3 percent for the three months from August to October alone.

Irish Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe welcomed the latest official data on overseas travel, saying that Wednesday's figures confirm that the strong tourism performance from overseas markets has continued into the Autumn months.

"All of our main markets are showing good growth levels and we remain on target for our best ever year in terms of overseas visits," he said.

"Looking to the longer term, I will publish a detailed Tourism Action Plan early in 2016 so that the necessary structures are in place to ensure that the sector can continue to grow in a sustainable manner into the future," he added.

Tourism is one of Ireland's most important economic sectors and has significant potential to play a further role in Ireland's economic renewal. In 2014, tourism was responsible for a 12 percent increase in earnings and a 9 percent increase in overseas visitor numbers.

For 2015, Ireland is projecting an increase of 6 percent in overseas tourists. Endit