Fewer visitors make trip to Ireland

Visits to Ireland fell by 2.2 per cent between May and July, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed today.

A total of 1.9 million trips were taken to the country by overseas visitors during the period, some 43,000 less than in 2011.

The figures showed the number of visitors from Britain fell, with trips by residents declining by 6.8 per cent to 746,200. US tourism was also down, falling by 3.3 per cent to 347,600.

There was a rise in those coming from other European countries, rising by 2.1 per cent to 723,600, and visitors from other areas were 7.6 per cent higher at 120,400.

Irish visits overseas were also down on 2011 figures, with total trips falling 0.4 per cent to 1.9 million, and total trips, including those taken at home, were 1.3 per cent lower at 3.9 million.