THE number of tourists visiting the Republic in the first three months of 1997 grew by 14 per cent, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The Minister for Tourism and Trade, Mr Kenny, claimed yesterday that the figures augured well for the whole year though he conceded that growth in the peak season might not be as strong.
Referring to recent publicity about an unusually high level of cancellations and criticism of the new brand image for Irish tourism, Mr Kenny said Bord Failte was confident its target growth figures for 1997 - 7 per cent in numbers and 9 per cent in revenue - will be met.
The CSO figures show that North America is proving particularly buoyant with a 28 per cent growth in visitors in the first three months. Aer Lingus has doubled its number of flights to Chicago this year and last week introduced a new service between Dublin, Shannon and Newark, New Jersey.
Business from Britain grew by 12 per cent, according to the CSO. The Continental European market was 14 per cent higher.
Mr Kenny said recent optimistic sounds about a renewed peace process in Northern Ireland led him to believe that "tourism will continue to fuel the engine of economic growth and employment creation on this island for the foreseeable future".
The chairman of Dublin Tourism, Mr Michael Flood, told the company's annual general meeting yesterday that the capital was continuing to maintain its position as the fastest growing urban tourism destination in western Europe. But, Mr Flood added, an extra £1 million was required to maintain this growth: "In the coming weeks, Dublin Tourism will be launching an initiative which will offer opportunities to the tourism industry to support Dublin Tourism's marketing efforts."
Mr Flood criticised the delay in securing a national convention centre for Dublin.