More than 2.4m trips were made to Ireland between July and September of this year, according to the Central Statistics Office, up 7.9% on the same period of 2013.
It means that more than 5.9m trips were made to the country in the first nine months of 2014 – 500,000 higher than the January to September period of last year.
The number of nights spent in the country by travellers during the third quarter was also higher, up 6.7% to 19.7m.
The average duration of each trip was down, however, at 8.2 nights per person – down 0.1.
But earnings from overseas travellers to the country rose significantly in the three month period, up 14.7% to almost €1.5m.
According to the CSO, more than half the trips made to Ireland in the three months to September were for leisure or recreational purposes, while more than a quarter of visitors came here to see friends or relatives.
Almost 38% travelled here from Britain, while more than 20% were from the US or Canada. A further 7.7% came from Germany, while more than 6% of visitors originated in France.
Meanwhile, the number of trips made by Irish residents to other countries was 3.9% higher in the third quarter at 2.11m.
The average duration of these trips rose slightly to an average of 10.2 nights, however the amount being spent was 3.7% lower at €1.57m.
