Tourism authorities have expressed concern about the impact of Britain’s decision to leave the EU after new figures indicated that the rate of growth of British tourists visiting the Republic slowed in the months after Brexit.
According to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) trips by residents from Britain actually rose by 9.3 per cent to 1,148,500 between July and September of this year.
However the rise of less than 10 per cent year-on-year looks less positive when compared with a 14.4 per cent increase in numbers coming from Britain to the Republic recorded in the three months leading up to the referendum and an increase of 17.3 per cent in the numbers in the first quarter of the year.
Sterling’s value against the euro has fallen by around 20 per cent since the start of the summer making the Republic considerably more expensive for British tourists who make up about 40 per cent of all the tourists visiting each year.
Despite slowing growth, the Republic is still set to record another record year of tourism growth in 2016 with visitors up 12 per cent in the first nine months, including a 15 percent increase from the north American market.
Overseas visitors
The latest figures show that last month was the best September on record for Irish tourism while January to September was the best period for overseas visitors to Ireland with almost 7½ million arrivals.
"These figures confirm that Irish tourism will have enjoyed another bumper year in 2016, but we need to ensure that it's not our last good year," said Shaun Quinn, chief executive of Fáilte Ireland.
“Our own research is already indicating some softening in the British market and this indicates that tourism businesses may need to plan for a changing trading environment.
“Not only must the Irish tourism sector remain competitive but those businesses highly dependent on the British market should now plan for a greater emphasis on the still lucrative and more stable European market.”
Minister of State for Tourism Patrick O’Donovan said preparations for the impact of Brexit would continue at “both political and official level so that we are ready for the challenges which it may bring for Irish tourism”.
Meanwhile, trips made by Irish residents abroad during the same time period only rose 3 per cent with 2,253,900 residents going overseas. The CSO reported in August that more Irish people were taking holidays in Ireland this year although travel abroad did continue to increase.
The UK and Spain remain the most population destinations for Irish travellers followed by north America and France.
