For the first time since records began, the number of people taking trips abroad was higher than overseas visitors coming into Ireland.
The Central Statistics Office figures show that in the first three months of 2007 Irish residents took 1.575m trips abroad and spent €1.14bn in the process.
There were 1.478m overseas trips into Ireland in the three months, with these visitors spending €819m here.
The CSO said this was the first time since it began tracking these figures in 1990 that this deficit has happened.
Compared to the first three months of 2006 Irish residents took 17% more trips abroad, with trips to continental Europe up 28%.
Meanwhile, there were 6% more overseas visitors to Ireland. Visitors from Britain fell 6% while visitors from North America rose 4%, with visitors from European countries up 33%.
