Overseas visits to Ireland fell by 15.1% to 636,600 in June 2009 compared to the same month in 2008. Visits by residents of the two main visitor markets declined substantially, Great Britain was down 19.8% to 260,700 and Other Europe fell by 12% to 219,600, according to the CSO. Meanwhile, the Irish Hotel Federation said today that a large number of hotels will be transferred to "bad bank" NAMA.

Irish residents made 709,900 overseas trips in June 2009, this represented 7.6% fewer trips than in June 2008.

In the first six months of 2009, overseas trips by Irish residents totalled 3,439,300. Overall this was 9.8% less than in the same period in 2008. Visits to Ireland from abroad fell by 10.7% to 3,304,100.

The CSO “Airport Pairings” database contains information of every direct flight in and out of the nine Irish airports on a monthly basis. Data is available from January 2006 to February 2009 here.

Hotels

The Irish hotel sector is in a crisis situation, with overcapacity at 20%, or 12,000 rooms, according to the Irish Hotel Federation. The industry body says 50% of hotels are in serious financial difficulty.

IHF chief executive John Power is seeking urgent Government assistance for the sector, and next Wednesday the federation will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis.

During the property bubble, the Government provided generous personal tax incentives to boost investment in the sector.

Power says expansion in recent years was unsustainable - - - 61,000 beds are now available in hotels around the county, compared with 40,000 in 2002. The number of hotels in the country has doubled in the last 13 years, and about 100 of these were built on the back of tax breaks.

The IHF wants the state to intervene to restructure and rescue the sector. It says a substantial number of hotels will be transferred to "bad bank" NAMA, and it wants a say in how the National Asset Management Agency will deal with these businesses.

John Power said a mechanism is needed to control how overcapacity is taken out of the market. He said the rooms should be used for another purpose for a five year period.

He also called for an adjustment in the capital allowance scheme so investors would not have to pay back any tax breaks they have already received on their investment.

He said that that with Government intervention, there can be a sustainable future for the sector.

The federation notes that some hotels, already taken over by banks, are offering below cost deals to consumers and distorting the market for other operators.

The IHF is also calling for a substantial reduction in local authority rates charges.

SEE: August 2008 Finfacts report; Davy says Irish Tourism troubles are threat for economy and banks; Hotel bedroom numbers jumped from 26,000 in 1996 to 64,500 in 2008 - a surge of 150% - while tourist numbers rose just over 70%