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Ireland sees 16.6 pct increase in overseas visits

Xinhua, April 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

The number of overseas visits to Ireland between January and March this year increased by 16.6 percent to 1.8 million compared to the corresponding period last year, according to official data on Wednesday.

The data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that visits by residents of Britain increased by 17.3 percent while visits by residents of mainland Europe increased by 14.1 percent.

Visits by residents of North America increased by 24.5 percent while visits from the rest of the world increased by 8 percent, according to the CSO data.

"The information from the CSO confirms that 2016 has gotten off to a very good start and we are on track for another excellent year," said Paschal Donohoe, minister for transport, tourism and sport, while welcoming the continued strong growth in Ireland's overseas visit numbers.

"2015 was a record year for visitor numbers and the fifth consecutive year of growth. We are aiming to build on this strong performance," he said.

Ireland has seen five consecutive years of growth in overseas visitor numbers to the country, culminating in a record year in 2015, with more than 8.6 million visits recorded. Endit