Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive at Tourism Ireland, has recently announced the publication of the latest SOAR report on tourism figures for Ireland.
The report shows that visitor numbers to the Republic of Ireland for the period February – April 2012 remain unchanged compared to the same period last year. Northern Ireland has experienced a slow start. Direct visitors are estimated to have declined for the first four months although holiday visits grew by +2% during that period.
Industry across the island and trade partners overseas remain cautiously positive about the forthcoming months, with reports of enquiries and advance bookings being ahead of this time last year. Tourism businesses in city and urban areas across the island are generally more positive about the summer peak.
The recent drop in value of the euro against both sterling and the US dollar means that – combined with the better value now available on the ground – the cost of a holiday in many parts of the island is more attractive for GB and US visitors than it has been for some time.
Late booking patterns still prevail in many of our source markets, demonstrating that there is still everything to play for this summer and for the remainder of the year.
You can download the full report here.
