Source: CSO

There were 911,500 (11.6%) fewer overseas trips to Ireland in 2009 compared to 2008. In all, 6,927,500 overseas trips were made to Ireland in 2009, the lowest since 2005. The decline in the visitors market from Great Britain accounted for most of the fall in numbers, where trips to Ireland fell by 615,400 (15.9%), according to the CSO.

Meanwhile, trips to Ireland by overseas residents for December 2009 were down 6% to 473,600 from December 2008. Visitors from Great Britain were down by 12.6% to 232,600 while trips to Ireland by residents of Other Europe and North America remained relatively steady at 159,100 and 54,600 respectively.

Irish residents made 417,300 overseas trips in December 2009 and this was 15% fewer than 12 months earlier.

In 2009, Irish residents made 7,049,300 such trips, down 10.5% from 2008.

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 November 2009. For details please go to http://tinyurl.com/2nypw8 .

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “2009 was one of the toughest years for tourism to the island of Ireland, and for tourism worldwide, and the CSO figures issued today reflect the impact on Ireland and on tourism businesses across the island.

“Tourism Ireland is aiming to grow visitor numbers by +3% this year. This outcome will mean that tourism to the island of Ireland will grow ahead of the competition. We have a comprehensive promotional programme in place for 2010, particularly in the run-up to and during St Patrick’s Day, capitalising on Ireland’s heightened profile to showcase the uniqueness of a holiday here. A range of campaigns are highlighting the great value on offer as well as compelling reasons to visit. The message is that there has never been a better time to visit the island of Ireland.

“Our global website www.discoverireland.com received a record 13 million visits in 2009, which is most encouraging and illustrates a continued strong interest in the island of Ireland, despite the challenging environment. We aim to convert that interest to sales in 2010”, said Gibbons.