Hook Lighthouse in Co Wexford has been shortlisted for the prestigious British Guild of Travel Writers world tourism awards for 2018.

Figures published today by the CSO for overseas visitors to Ireland saw an increase of almost 4% over the last year.

You can’t say Tourism Ireland isn’t reaching out to new markets — its new publicity drive based around Star Wars: The Last Jedi has gone into space.

The tourism industry can sometimes feel a little aspirational, with its over-the-top descriptions, but here's proof that once upon a time, Ireland advertised itself with the direct approach.