CSO figures show big drop among British visitors
THE DECLINE in the number of overseas visitors coming here continued in May, with trips to Ireland down almost a quarter on the same month last year.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that some 502,500 people visited Ireland in May - 155,000, or 23.6 per cent, fewer than in the corresponding period in 2009.
The largest decrease was in the number visiting from Britain, Ireland's largest tourist market, which was down 30 per cent to 214,600.
Visits from the rest of Europe and North America fell by 19.8 per cent (to 175,800) and 16.7 per cent (to 88,200) respectively, while the numbers arriving from other nations fell by 8.1 per cent.
The drop in May represents a similar decline to that experienced in April while an ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull closed a significant portion of Ireland and the UK's airspace. The ash cloud affected transport for a total of eight days in early May.
Some two million people visited in the first five months of the year, down from 2.6 million a year earlier.
Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin moved to address the decline in the industry yesterday by establishing a group charged with driving tourism competitiveness and the recovery.
The Renewal Implementation Group will oversee measures to support tourism and ensure the industry is ready for growth in the future. Its members include Ms Hanafin and representatives of the tourism sector.
Its establishment was recommended in a report published in October by a Government-appointed group chaired by businessman Maurice Pratt.
The Labour Party said the move was welcome but that it was a shame the recommendation was not taken on board when it was made some 10 months ago.
The report also said the industry would face three challenges over the coming years: survival, recovery and growth.
Ms Hanafin said Ireland was still in the survival phase and that difficult conditions, including economic uncertainty, bad weather and problems caused by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud in April, put extra pressure on the industry in the first half of the year.
One of the members of the Renewal Implementation Group, Irish Tourist Industry Confederation chief executive Eamonn McKeon, said he expected the revenue generated in the industry to fall by €400-€500 million this year, to some €3.5 billion, as overall visitors fall about 15 per cent year on year to 5.5 million.
Mr McKeon said visitor figures for June would probably be more encouraging and show a year-on-year decline of 6 to 7 per cent and that the July figure could retrun to last year's level.
He said he was confident the sector could bounce back as tourism, unlike manufacturing or agriculture, could not be outsourced and Ireland had a strong product to offer. The recovery of the pound against the euro would alleviate some of the fall off in the British market.
Some 975,000 Britons visited Ireland in the first five months of this year, compared to 1.3 million in 2009. There were 26 per cent fewer visits from European countries but the numbers arriving from the US and other nations decreased by a smaller margin.
Tourism Ireland said the CSO figures for May showed the difficulties facing the industry but stressed that more than 50 per cent of visitors arrive here between July and December.
Labour Party spokeswoman on tourism Mary Upton said the continued downward trend in overseas visitors to Ireland showed the industry had moved from a recession into a depression.
