Ireland bucks tourism downturn

IRELAND has bucked the trend by recording a 5% rise in the number of tourists visiting the country in the first half of this year, despite the war on Iraq and the SARS outbreak.

In what the industry describes as a ‘surprising turnaround’ from a poor tourist season last year, American visitors have returned and the percentage of British visitors is up by 10% in the South and 17% in the North.

Tourism Ireland expects visitor numbers to grow by 4% overall this year to €7.4 million. The marketing campaigns of the North-South body, Tourism Ireland, and competitive flight prices, have been credited for the upturn in American visitors.