Dublin (TAN): Tourist arrivals in Ireland have increased 2.8% YoY in the first seven months of 2019, Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said citing overseas visitor figures published on Thursday.
“Today’s figures from the CSO indicate that overseas arrivals increased by +2.8% in the first seven months of 2019, around 170,600 more than in January-July 2018. However, the month of July has shown a continuing weak trend – with a fall of -0.5%,” Gibbons said.
[ALSO READ: Buenos Aires joins UNWTO network of tourism observatories]
“The figures for January to July indicate a very mixed picture – with a modest performance and some continuing underlying weakness from Britain (+0.5%) and Mainland Europe (+2.2%), but with North America (+6.4%) and long-haul markets (+7.1%) showing growth so far this year. Feedback from industry partners on the ground suggests weaker demand in the peak summer season and a late booking pattern, with concern being expressed for the remainder of 2019,” he said.
The summer air access picture has been positive, with +2.5% more seats available. “However, air access capacity has deteriorated during the year – with the discontinuation of Norwegian flights from New York, Boston and Toronto, the suspension of the Hainan Airlines flight from Beijing until 2020 and the cancellation of its service from Shenzhen, as well as the delayed delivery of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft,” he added.
[ALSO READ: Egypt organises festival in national reserve to promote ecotourism]
Stating that Brexit certainly remains a very real and ongoing challenge, giving rise to consumer concern, particularly in Britain and some Mainland European markets, he said the fall in the value of sterling has made holidays in Ireland more expensive for British visitors – and has made Britain more affordable for visitors from many of our top markets.
