Visitors to Ireland up half a million compared to last year

Over half a million more visitors came to Ireland in the first half of this year when compared to the same time period in 2015.

The majority of tourists came from Britain and north America but it was also the best ever first half performance from Mainland Europe.

Screen Tourism is booming in Ireland with shows like Game of Thrones and the latest Star Wars installment attracting armies of fans.

But it was not just the lure of the TV and film locations that brought over half a million extra visitors to these shores in the first half of this year.

Air access, positive publicity and a global marketing campaign also contributed to the good showing.

The majority of visitors came from Britain and North America but the numbers from Europe were also up.

Progress is good and the future looks bright, but Tourism Ireland says external factors like Brexit could have an impact going forward.