Ryder Cup helped September visitor figures reach 700,000

More than 700,000 overseas visitors came to Ireland during September, according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This is an increase of almost 90,000 on the same period last year.

Minister for Tourism John O'Donoghue welcomed the figures, attributing them in part to the attraction of the Ryder Cup, which had 40,000 visitors a day.

The figures showed there were 738,400 trips to Ireland this September compared to 648,800 in September 2005. The 14 per cent increase also reflected a trend throughout the summer. May 2006 showed an increase of 108,300 on the previous May.

June visitors rose from 681,200 in 2005 to 750,500 this year, and July rose from 781,200 to 839,200.

In September, visitors from Britain increased by 40,000 on the same period last year, bringing the number of British visitors to 384,700, more than half of the total figure. There were 108,100 North American visitors, up almost 20,000. Just over 45,000 Germans also travelled to Ireland in September, along with almost 30,000 French.

Mr O'Donoghue said the increase in visitor numbers from the US in particular was "evidence that the hard work which went into securing and promoting the Ryder Cup had an effect in September". He had no doubt that the country received a major boost from the publicity leading up to the event.

The number of Irish people travelling abroad has also increased. In September 2006, 638,500 of us took a break away, compared to 602,600 last year.