OVERSEAS TRIPS by Irish residents increased by 2.1 per cent in 2008, exceeding the number of trips made by visitors to Ireland for the first time in 18 years.
Travel statistics published by the Central Statistics Office showed more than 7.8 million overseas trips were made in 2008 by people living in Ireland.
The number of overseas visitors who came to Ireland in the same period fell by 2.2 per cent, mainly due to a decrease in the number of visits by residents of Britain.
According to the statistics, the number of visitors from North America was down by 6.4 per cent, while there was a drop of 4 per cent in visitors from the UK.
However, the number of visitors from Europe increased by 0.8 per cent, while the number of visitors from areas including Asia, Australia and Africa increased by 11 per cent.
July last year saw more people leave Ireland for trips overseas than any other month, with 856,400 trips abroad made by Irish residents.
December was the month in which the fewest trips abroad were made, at just 491,100.
In contrast, August saw the most overseas trips by Irish residents in 2007, with 815,700 trips made.
Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen said the number of visitors last year showed Irish tourism was showing resilience despite a remarkably challenging global environment.
“To attract this number of visitors despite economic difficulties in most of our main overseas markets is a huge tribute to all those involved in the tourism industry and defies the negative expectations of some.”
Mr Cullen said he was confident the Irish tourism sector was well-positioned to respond to a challenging 2009, and that the sector would return to growth in the medium term.
Fine Gael spokeswoman on tourism Olivia Mitchell expressed concern at the decrease in visitors to Ireland.
She said: “The figures make sobering reading especially when one considers that visitors from the major markets of the UK and North America are generally high-spenders.”
She also said the decision to increase VAT and introduce a “departure tax” had been “disastrous” to tourism in Ireland.
Commenting on the statistics, a spokesman for Fáilte Ireland said 2009 would be a challenging year, with home holidays expected to rise.
He encouraged the tourism industry to provide value and quality to customers to attract them, saying that “at least seven million visitors are expected to visit Ireland this year”.