Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross T.D. and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D., today welcomed the latest official data on overseas travel from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which showed an increase of 12.0% in overseas visits to Ireland for the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015.
Commenting on the figures, Minister Ross stated: “We have been fortunate to enjoy consistent increases in terms of overall visitor numbers to Ireland and foreign revenue earnings in recent years. The first nine months of 2016 have continued this trend with a growth in visitor numbers of 12.0% compared to the same period in 2015. Our challenge now is to maintain this growth. Budget 2017 reflects the government’s commitment to support the development and sustainability of Irish tourism. The 9% VAT rate was retained and funding of €122 million for the tourism programme will allow Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to develop Ireland’s tourism industry by further enhancing the experience brands and marketing Ireland effectively overseas and domestically. I was delighted to hear that Ireland was voted the Best International Destination at this year’s Group Leisure Awards in Britain. Accolades such as this will continue to encourage visitors to make the trip to Ireland from overseas.”
Today’s CSO figures on Overseas Travel show:
- At almost 7.5 million visits, overall trips to Ireland were up 12.0% in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. For the three-month period from July to September 2016, overseas trips to Ireland increased by 10.5%.
- Visits from Mainland Europe grew by 10.6% for January to September 2016, to 2,613,400 visits and by 10% for the July to September period.
- North America registered an increase of 15.4% for January – September 2016 (1,395,900 visits) and an increase of 15.9% in the July – September 2016 period;
- Visits from Great Britain were up by 13.2% for January – September 2016 (3,013,500 visits) and by 9.3% for the three months from July to September 2016 compared to the corresponding period of 2015.
- Visits from the rest of the world (mostly long-haul and developing markets) totalled 422,400 for the first nine months of 2016 (representing an increase of 2.7%) and increased by 3.7% for the three months from July to September
Commenting on today’s statistics, Minister O’Donovan stated: “The figures published today show that all of Ireland's major markets have shown very healthy performances in the first nine months of 2016. The 7.44 million overseas visitors who came to Ireland between January and September make a vital contribution to employment and revenue for our economy. Our preparations for the impact of Brexit are continuing at both political and official level so that we are ready for the challenges which it may bring for Irish tourism. I welcome the recent announcement of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald T.D., to extend the Irish Short-Stay Visa Waiver Programme which will help promote interest in Ireland to visitors from the eighteen countries involved in the programme. I also welcome the Household Travel Survey results published recently by the CSO, which show that our home holiday market is also growing strongly. Domestic holiday trips in the first half of 2016 increased by an impressive 11%, while domestic holiday expenditure increased by 12.5%, compared to the same period in 2015. This provides wider evidence of our improving domestic economy. Combined with today’s overseas visitor numbers, it is clear that the overall picture is very positive – our tourism sector is enjoying a great year so far and the hard work of all within the industry is paying dividends.”
Commenting on the CSO figures, Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Today’s figures indicate that this was the best ever month of September for Irish tourism, with almost 900,000 arrivals recorded. It was also the best ever January to September period for overseas visitors to Ireland, with almost 7.5 million arrivals, representing an increase of +12% – almost 800,000 additional overseas visitors when compared with the first nine months of 2015. It is clear that 2016 will be another record-breaking year for Irish tourism. We have seen exceptional results from North America for January to September – up +15.4% on the same nine-month period in 2015. I also welcome the strong increase in British visitors (+13.2%). Mainland Europe has also turned in another excellent performance (+10.6%), with important markets like Italy, Spain, France and Benelux all recording really good growth.
“We are determined to ensure that growth continues. Upcoming promotions – including a significant presence at World Travel Market in London, with about 70 Irish tourism partners; a sales mission to Australia and New Zealand; and our ‘Jump into Ireland’ travel trade and media blitz to the west coast of the United States next month – will help to keep this momentum going and deliver further success in 2017 and beyond.”
Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, welcomed today’s figures but counselled: “These figures confirm that Irish tourism will have enjoyed another bumper year in 2016 but we need to ensure that it’s not our last good year and we sustain growth in the sector – particularly given the challenges of a post-Brexit context. Our own Fáilte Ireland research is already indicating some softening in the British market and this indicates that tourism businesses may need to plan for a changing trading environment. Not only must the Irish tourism sector remain competitive but those businesses highly dependent on the British market should now plan for a greater emphasis on the still lucrative and more stable European market.”