Record number of US visitors as tourism booms

Tourism from the US has become the embattled industry’s billion-dollar baby as record numbers of American visitors make Ireland their priority destination.

In a welcome turnaround for the tourism sector, trips by visitors from North America jumped 20.5% in the early summer months compared to the same period last year.

The increase comes on top of growth in visitor numbers from Britain, the rest of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand which, when combined, have pushed business in the May-July period up 7.6% year-on-year.