Tourism revenue up to €4.2bn as visitor numbers soar

A record 8.6 million people visited Ireland from overseas last year, marking an “exceptional” year for Irish tourism.

The total revenue for the Irish tourism sector in 2015 was €4.2 billion while spending by overseas visitors – excluding aircraft fares – rose by 18.6 per cent compared with 2014.

The number of holidaymakers visiting Ireland rose by 20.4 per cent in 2016, while their spending rose 27.8 per cent when compared with the previous year.

Minister for Tourism Paschal Donohoe hailed 2015 as an exceptional year for the sector and said the State was working towards further growing the number of visitors and associated revenue in 2016.

“Of course this being St Patrick’s week, Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative is taking place across the world at a time when many people are planning their holidays, giving Ireland an unparalleled platform to encourage people to pay us a visit’,” said Mr Donohoe following the release of the latest numbers.

Under the recently published Tourism Action Plan, the Minister hopes to see €5 billion in overseas tourism revenue by 2025. He also hopes to create 250,000 jobs in the sector with 10 million visits to Ireland in the next decade.

The latest data from the Central Statistics Office reveal that visitors from abroad spent a total of 61 million nights in the country.

Visitors from North America increased their spending on Irish shores by 28 per cent last year while spending by visitors from mainland Europe was up by 19.1 per cent. UK visitor spending rose 9.7 per cent in 2015, while “other’ long-haul market visitor spent 14.7 per cent more.

Overseas trips to Ireland increased by 17.8 per cent during the final quarter from October to December.

The number of overseas visitors to Ireland rose to two million in the fourth quarter of 2015, up significantly on the 1.7 million trips made during the same time in 2014.

Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn warned not to become complacent about tourism growth and recommended a strategic approach to developing Ireland's tourism.

“Fluctuations in the currency markets and international volatility could change our positive outlook very quickly so we would urge the tourism sector to remain vigilant and to continue focussing on consistent and sustainable growth as well as maintaining value for money in the year ahead.”

Ireland’s profile

The Irish were also busy travelling abroad during the year, with residents making 6.965 million overseas trips in 2015 compared to 6.514 million trips the year before. Spending by Irish residents overseas rose by 7.5 per cent to €4,695 million.

Chief executive of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons said he was determined to see the State's tourism growth continue and plans to use "every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland's heightened profile" during the 2016 St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Tourism Ireland’s annual 2016 “Global Greening” initiative takes place this week with landmarks across Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia lighting up in green to mark St Patrick’s Day.

Nelson’s Column in London, 7 World Trade Center at the site of Ground Zero in New York, City Hall in Tel Aviv, the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Empire State Building in New York and the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris will all turn green later this week to mark the patron saint’s fast day.

They will be joined by the Big Wheel on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Mole Antonelliana in Turin (the architectural symbol of the city), the light rail system in Addis Ababa and the world famous jungle opera house in Manaus, Brazil in the Amazon rainforest, all of which will be floodlit in green.

“We plan to use every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile this week,” said Mr Gibbons. “The saturation coverage about Ireland across the global airwaves, in newspapers and digital media will be an invaluable boost for our overall 2016 tourism promotional drive.”