Source: CSO

The impact of the closure of Irish airspace due to volcanic activity in April 2010 was reflected in the sharp decrease in trips abroad by Irish residents and also in trips to Ireland made by overseas residents. While Irish residents made 161,500 fewer trips in April 2010, 151,300 less trips were taken to Ireland by Overseas residents compared to April 2009.

The Central Statistics Office said trips to Ireland by overseas residents in April 2010 decreased to 456,500, a drop of 24.9% compared to April 2009. Visitors from Great Britain were down by 14.2% to 249,900 while trips to Ireland by residents of other Europe and North America decreased by 36.5% and 33% respectively. Trips by residents of other countries decreased by 22.5%. Irish residents made 417,900 overseas trips in April 2010. This was 27.9% fewer than were taken in April 2009.

The CSO “Airport Pairings” database contains information on every direct flight in and out of the nine Irish airports on a monthly basis. Data is available from January 2006 to March 2010. April passenger figures will be published on July 1st. For details go here.

In response to queries on the CSO figures issued today for overseas visitor numbers to Ireland for April, Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “The first four months of 2010 have been extremely challenging and today’s CSO figures for April reflect the impact on Ireland and on tourism enterprises across the island.

“The difficulties around the volcanic ash plume in April – which closed airports here and in our major markets in Britain and around Europe – have certainly impacted significantly on the number of overseas visitors who arrived here in April. Fortunately, sea traffic was up +20% in April, which helped to mitigate the effects of the drop in air traffic across Europe. Tourism Ireland is capitalising on this right now, with co-operative promotional campaigns in place with the ferry companies, particularly in the all-important Britain market.

“These campaigns are part of our largest ever mid-year marketing drive which is under way right now in Britain, the US and Mainland Europe, in a bid to attract the maximum number of overseas visitors to the island of Ireland during the peak summer months. The €20 million marketing drive is focusing on the excellent value available from the industry here. It is tapping into the later-than-ever booking trend, which is more pronounced this year.

“Approximately 51% of overseas holidaymakers arrive between June and September, so there is still everything to play for this year. The message from Tourism Ireland and the tourism industry is that there has never been a better time to visit the island of Ireland.”

The period January 1 to April 30 accounts for approximately 29% of overall visitors each year.