CSO figures show tourism on track for another record year

Almost 8.3 million people visited Ireland in the first 10 months of this year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The CSO data shows an increase of 11.6% on the same period in 2015.

Of those that travelled to Ireland during that time, more than 3.3 million of them came from Britain, almost 2.8 million came from Mainland Europe, while North America accounted for more than 1.5 million.

Tourism Ireland has welcomed the figures saying they represent the best ever January to October period for the sector.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: "Today’s figures indicate that this was the best ever month of October for Irish tourism, with more than 830,000 arrivals recorded.

"It was also the best ever January to October period for overseas visitors to Ireland, with almost 8.3 million arrivals, representing an increase of almost 12%.

"Next week, we will outline our plans for 2017, when we will be pulling out all the stops to ensure that the island of Ireland continues to increase its share of the global travel business."