Number of tourists down by 4,250 a day

A SHARP drop in tourism figures, with some 4,250 fewer tourists visiting our shores every day, has prompted calls for the excessive costs of holidaying in Ireland to be tackled.

Figures show some 641,400 fewer visitors came to Ireland in the first five months of 2010 compared to last year.

Tourism chiefs need to shake up their marketing plans while the Government’s departure tax needs to be axed to boost falling visitor numbers, it was claimed yesterday.