Irish spent €1.14bn on trips away in 3 months

THE number of Irish people going abroad on holiday or business has exceeded the numbers of overseas visitors coming to Ireland — for the first time since records began.

In the first three months of 2007, Irish travellers made 1.58 million trips abroad — spending a staggering €1.14 billion — compared with 1.48 million visits here made by overseas residents, who spent €819m.

Compared with the same period last year, the number of trips abroad by Irish residents has rocketed 17%, while visits to Ireland from overseas leapt 6%.

Spending on trips abroad by Irish holidaymakers and business travellers rose 11.7% in the same period while expenditure by overseas visitors rose 11.4%.

Yesterday, travel experts said the figures underlined the growing popularity of Irish holidaymakers enjoying two long breaks a year abroad as well as the popularity of Ireland as a tourist destination.

Budget Travel, Ireland’s biggest travel agent, with a 35% share of the foreign holiday market, said cheapness of breaks abroad and ease of booking on the internet were driving demand.

“Holidays are accessible for people at their fingertips and, added to that, breaks are as cheap now as they were 10 years ago,” said spokeswoman Niamh Hayes.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in just three years in our own internet site, which now accounts for 30% of our bookings.”

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) compiled the travel figures based on a survey of 74,000 tourists and travellers who made trips during January, February and March.

For the first time since 1990, when the CSO started compiling quarterly travel figures, the number of trips abroad made by Irish residents exceeded the number of visits to Ireland from overseas citizens.

During the period, Irish residents made 1,575,000 trips abroad with 57% of the visits for holidays, leisure or recreation, while 15% were for business and the rest were for visiting family and friends or other reasons.

The most common destination was continental Europe (841,000 trips), although Britain remained the single biggest destination, with 653,000 trips made by air or boat. There were 81,000 trips across the Atlantic to North America.

Based on the CSO survey, the numbers of trips to Ireland made by overseas visitors came to 1,478,000 in the three months.

More than half the trips were made by British residents, a third by citizens from continental Europe and 11% by North Americans. Of all the trips, just under half were made for holidays while 29% were to visit friends and families.

Travel consultant John G O’Dwyer said Ireland’s reputation as a stable and value-for-money destination ensured the country’s popularity with overseas visitors.