The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released figures showing that the number of overseas trips to Ireland increased to 2.1 million for the period October to December 2016, a growth of 7.2 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.
CSO's data shows that the number of nights spent in Ireland by overseas travellers increased by 7.5 per cent and that total tourism and travel earnings from overseas visitors to Ireland increased by 7.5 per cent to €1,234 million.
Commenting on the CSO figures for 2016, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Today’s CSO figures are really strong, confirming that revenue from overseas visitors to Ireland grew by +9 per cent during 2016, an additional €360 million for the Irish economy compared with 2015. Total overseas visitor numbers increased by +9 per cent; and holiday visitors also grew by +9 per cent during 2016 - 342,000 additional holiday visitors.
"Our focus now is very much on 2017. Our aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue this year by +4.5 per cent, to €5.7 billion, for the island of Ireland. Our promotions received a tremendous boost last week, with our Global Greening initiative for St Patrick’s Day, which was bigger and better than ever before. St Patrick’s Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for us and we took every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile.
"Tourism Ireland will create ‘stand out’ for Ireland around the world in 2017, highlighting iconic experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, Titanic Belfast and the Causeway Coastal Route. We will also promote Dublin and Belfast, in particular for shoulder and off-peak travel. Screen tourism will remain a priority, as we continue to capitalise on our connections with Star Wars and Game of Thrones.”
