The number of tourists who visited Ireland in July increased by 12.5%, making it the best ever month of July for Irish tourism.
More than 1,160,500 visited Ireland in July, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office.
Our neighbours in Britian visited Ireland more than any other nationality, with 353,300 travelling here in July. Trips by people from other European countries increased by 12.5% to 422,800.
Trips by residents of USA and Canada to Ireland increased by 24.5% to 299,300.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said thiss was the best ever month of July for Irish tourism, with more than 1.16 million arrivals.
"Particularly welcome in today’s figures is the continued strong performance from North America, with an increase of 13.5%. A number of factors are working in our favour, including more airline seats than ever before, from more gateways across the US and Canada. We’ve also seen excellent results from Mainland Europe, with particularly strong performances from Germany and Italy," Mr Gibbons said.
Tourism Ireland has prioritised North America and Mainland Europe, as markets which offer a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure.
The total number of overseas trips made by Irish residents during July 2018 decreased by 2.2% to 905,400, according to the CSO.
Mr Gibbons said, "While we welcome the fact that arrivals from Britain are up 2.5%, it’s too early to say if this represents a turnaround in the long-term trend. The impact of Brexit on outbound travel from Britain, therefore, remains a concern."
