Visitors to Ireland down 800,000 in past year

OUR tourism sector has suffered one of its worst periods in a decade, with the number of people travelling to this country plummeting by more than 800,000 in a year.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that between January and October alone Irish hotels and tourist attractions witnessed the massive 800,000 drop in foreign visitors.

While 6.8 million people travelled to Ireland for holidays, short visits, and work- related journeys between January and October 2008, during the same period this year the number of people arriving fell to just over six million.