The number of trips made to Ireland in the first half of 2013 is 5.4% higher than in the same period of last year, according to the Central Statistics Office.
More than 3.14 million trips have been made to the country between January and June, 162,400 (5.4%) more than in the same timeframe of 2012.
The overall figures for the first half of the year are the highest since 2009, when 3.3 million trips were made to Ireland between January and June.
Almost 1.3 million of the trips made in the first half of this year were made by residents of Britain, down slightly on the first half of 2012, however this was more than compensated for by a 7.9% increase in the number of trips being made by residents of other European countries.
The number of North America making trips to Ireland in the first half of the year was also up, rising by 70,000 (15%) to 519,600.
Meanwhile, trips by residents of other countries - such as those in Asia or South America – rose by almost 10,000 (5.7%) to 178,900.
During the same period, the number of Irish residents taking trips overseas fell slightly.
The CSO says that 2,961,200 Irish residents made trips abroad between January and June of this year - 1,000 fewer than in the same period of 2012.
