Visits to Ireland up 3.2% in 2004

There was a 3.2% increase in foreign visits to Ireland last year, with the figure up 8.9% in December alone.

The Central Statistics Office said there were 436,200 overseas trips to Ireland in December 2004 compared with 400,400 in the same month of 2003.In the whole of last year, there were 6,574,500 visits to Ireland, an increase of 3.2% on the figure of 6,369,000 for 2003.

The number of visitors from the UK grew by 2.4% in December compared with the same month in 2003, although the overall figure for 2004 was down 1%.

Trips to Ireland by people from other European countries surged by 27.8% in December to 100,600, while visits from the US increased by 15.7% when compared with December 2003. Over the course of last year, the number was up 8% on 2003.

Irish people weren't slow either in making visits abroad - the figure is up was up by 8% in December over the same period last year.

The Minister for Tourism John O'Donoghue welcomed the figures, saying they were evidence of "a strong performance by Ireland against tough international competition".