Commenting on new figures published by the CSO for overseas tourists to Ireland for January to December 2019, Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said, "[These] figures from the CSO indicate that overseas arrivals increased by 1.8% in 2019, over 191,000 more than in 2018.
"2019 has presented a mixed picture for Irish tourism and this is reflected in [the latest] CSO figures. We've seen a small increase in arrivals from Britain (+0.8%), a modest performance from both mainland Europe (+2.6%) and North America (+1.2%), and arrivals from long-haul markets up 5.5%. However, North America has seen a disappointing decline of 5% for the month of December alone. There's been a deterioration in air access capacity from North America this year, with a 9% decline for this winter.
"The figures very much reflect feedback from our industry partners on the ground, who've seen weaker demand this year. The continued uncertainty around Brexit is giving rise to consumer concern in Britain and some mainland European markets."
Focussed On The Year Ahead
Gibbons added, "Our focus now is on the year ahead. Tourism Ireland's campaigns are in full swing to surpass the performance of 2019. The aim of our three-year strategy for 2020-2022 is to grow overseas tourism revenue to €6.54 billion (+13%) and visitor numbers to 12 million (+7%) by 2022. Tourism Ireland aims to spread the benefits of tourism more broadly across the island of Ireland on a year-round basis."
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
