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Ballycroy National Park along the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast. International visitor numbers were down 25% compared to the same month last year, according to the CSO.

 The recent CSO data on overseas tourist arrivals for January caused quite a stir. International visitor numbers were down 25% compared to the same month last year, and their spend was down 28%.

Three-month rolling comparisons are a much better indicator of performance, and January is the ‘thinnest’ of months, traditionally only representing 5% of tourism’s annual calendar. Nonetheless the start to the year has felt soft for Irish tourism and hospitality enterprises and February’s data will be watched closely.