Tourism chiefs upbeat despite slow June

TOURISM chiefs are insisting on seeing the sunny side of the industry’s performance despite early signs that the number of overseas visitors is on a downward slide.

The number of trips from all countries to Ireland in June — the first big month for summer season business — fell by more than 3% compared with the same month last year, figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

More worrying is the fall-off in visitors from the old reliable markets, Britain and North America. Tourist numbers from those areas fell by 8% and 10% respectively, comparing June this year with June 2007.