Ireland welcomed a record number of international visitors in the first half of 2015, according to new figures released by the country’s Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Almost 3.9 million people visited the country in the January to June period, representing an 11.7% year-on-year increase, or an additional 407,100 visitors.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Our aim is to ensure that 2015 is the best year ever for Irish tourism. I am delighted to see that growth has been recorded from all of our markets around the world, with record numbers from North America (up almost +15%), mainland Europe (+13%) and long-haul markets (+12%).”
The UK remained Ireland’s single biggest source market, with more than 1.6 million arrivals, up 9.4% year-on-year.
Visitor numbers from the United States and Canada were up almost 15%, representing an additional 85,000 people. Ireland now welcomes 10% of all American visitors to Europe.
In terms of European arrivals, Italy (+32%), Spain (+15%), France (+13%), Germany (+12%), Benelux (+11%) and the Nordic countries (+5%) all recording strong growth.
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