The number of Irish tourists visiting Germany has grown by 16 per cent in the first six months of the year, new figures reveal.
However, the tourist traffic from Germany to Ireland has dropped, with figures for 2003 showing 8 per cent less German tourists coming here.
Ms Linda Borchert, of the German National Tourist Office, said during a promotional visit to Kerry this week that direct flights from Ireland were a factor in Irish people deciding to holiday in Germany.
The daily Ryanair flight from Kerry Airport to Frankfurt Hahn, a former military airport around 100 kilometres from the city of Frankfurt, attracted holiday makers from the south to the Mosel and Rhineland region.
The flight has contributed to a huge increase in passenger traffic at the airport, accounting for almost 100,000 passengers.
In all, five airlines are flying to Germany. These include a flight to Frankfurt Hahn from Shannon and direct flights from Dublin to a number of German cities.
