Tourist numbers down by 18% in March

LATEST travel figures show the tourism industry is continuing to take a hammering with the numbers coming to Ireland falling by more than 18% in March.

The figures from the Central Statistics Office show that visitors from Britain fell by a staggering 21% to 212,700, while trips to Ireland by residents of other European countries and North America decreased by 23% and 2.5%, respectively. Trips to Ireland from other countries fell by 3,100.

Irish people made 543,100 overseas trips in March, a drop of 3.7% on the number that travelled in the same month last year.