Overseas trips down by almost 10%

IRISH holidaymakers are staying at home in increasing numbers and cutting back on overseas trips as the full effect of the recession hits the travel industry.

New figures show the economic downturn is having a major impact on the amount of foreign holidays being taken by Irish people, with trips abroad down by more than 9% in the last three months of 2008 compared with the same period the previous year.

Such travellers are also taking shorter breaks with the total number of holiday nights spent abroad down by over 23% to just under 6.6 million, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office. CSO figures show that overall foreign trips, including those taken for business purposes, taken in the last quarter of 2008 fell to 1,710,000 — a decline of 4.5%.