Ireland welcomed almost 1 million additional visitors in the first 11 months of 2015 – 14% more than a year earlier – according to figures released by Tourism Ireland.
Welcoming the result, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “2015 has been a superb year for overseas tourism, with [these] figures indicating that it will be a record-breaking year, with more than 8 million people arriving here during the January to November period – an increase of +14%, or almost 1 million additional overseas visitors, when compared to 2014.
“I am delighted to report that growth has been recorded from all of our markets around the world, with record numbers arriving here from North America (+14% on the first 11 months of 2014). Ireland now welcomes 10% of all American visitors to Europe – particularly noteworthy given the intense competition from other destinations.
“We have also seen record numbers arriving here from Mainland Europe (almost +16%) and from our long-haul markets like Australia, China and India (+13%). I also welcome the continued strong performance from Britain (over +12%), our largest market for overseas tourism.
“We are determined to ensure that tourism growth continues. Tourism Ireland has a number of late-season campaigns under way right now, to kickstart our promotional effort for next year. In 2016, we will be pulling out all the stops to surpass this year’s record performance and to welcome 8.2 million visitors, delivering €4.4 billion to the Irish economy.”
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