6.4% fall in H1’s UK visitors

Ireland experienced a 4.2% increase in the number of overseas visitors in the first half of the year according to CSO figures, however the total number of visitors from the UK fell by 6.4%, from 1.87 million to 1.75 million.

Tourism Ireland is working very closely with the tour operators in the UK and a very active advertising campaign is currently underway there. But Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Niall Gibbons has warned, “We have to make sure that we offer value-for-money to the British consumer who has essentially seen the price of their holidays to the eurozone as a whole increase by 15% over the last year.”

Tourism Ireland has stated that the UK accounts for some 47% of all our overseas visitors and for some 30% of overseas tourism revenue.