US tourist numbers ‘overstated’

A record number of US tourists may be expected to visit Ireland in 2013 as a result of the Gathering initiative but are the figures being exaggerated?

An analysis of statistics on overseas visitors from North America suggests that Irish authorities could be overstating the annual number of visitors from the US and Canada by as much as 40%.

If true, it means there were 275,000 fewer visitors from the US and Canada here in 2011 than officially claimed by the Central Statistics Office.