Leadership

UK visitor numbers to Ireland peaked in 2004 - CSO

27.11.2009
The number of visitors to Ireland from the UK appears to have peaked around 2006 and has been declining ever since, a new report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has shown.

According to the CSO’s Tourism Trends 2008 report, there were 4.06 million visits to Ireland from UK visitors in 2006, while the number of visits had declined by 4.6pc in 2008 to 3.87 million.

In contrast, overall overseas trips to Ireland increased by 19pc to 7.85 million between 2004 and 2008, the CSO said.

During 2008, the number of domestic trips made by Irish residents involving at least one overnight stay was up 19pc on 2004 to 8.33 million trips, the report showed.

In terms of foreign trips, Spain was the most popular holiday destination for Irish travellers in 2008, followed by the UK, France and the US.

In total, just over 8 million foreign trips were taken by Irish residents in 2008 and this increased by 47.2pc since 2004. However, much of this growth took place prior to 2007 and there was just a slight increase between 2007 and 2008, the CSO noted.

In terms of what visitors are doing in Ireland, the popularity of water sports and hiking/walking as an activity for both Irish visitors and foreign visitors almost doubled between 2004 and 2008.

The Irish people and the country’s scenery were cited by visitors as the biggest attractions of Ireland as a holiday destination in 2008, while the cost of living and the weather were the biggest drawbacks, the CSO report showed.

The report also revealed that residents of the Netherlands, Cyprus, Belgium and Greece preferred longer foreign holidays (15-28 nights) than other nationalities, while residents of Finland and Croatia were more likely to take trips lasting up to 7 nights.