Commenting on new figures published by the CSO for overseas visitors to Ireland for January and February, 2019, Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said, "[New] figures from the CSO indicate that overseas arrivals increased by 7% in the first two months of 2019 - around 81,200 additional arrivals when compared with January-February, 2018. However, it is early days yet. Arrivals in January and February represent around 11% of total annual arrivals, and growth in the month of February alone has slowed to 2.7%.
"Arrivals from North America grew by almost 11% in the first two months of 2019 - an extra 18,700 US and Canadian visitors. We’ve also seen good results from mainland Europe, up almost 8%, with particularly strong performances from France, Spain and Germany. Visitor numbers from Australia and emerging tourism markets increased by almost 15%. While we welcome the fact that arrivals from Britain are up 4% for January-February 2019, we’re very much aware of the continued uncertainty about Brexit and its impact on outbound travel from Britain, and that remains a concern."
"Looking To The Upcoming Summer Season"
Gibbons added, "Looking to the upcoming summer season, the air and sea access picture is very positive, with increases in the number of airline seats from Britain, mainland Europe, North America and long-haul markets. Tourism Ireland’s new 'Fill Your Heart with Ireland' campaign is rolling out around the world. Our aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue this year to €6.5 billion for the island of Ireland."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
