Wednesday 16 January 2013

Tourism Ireland Looks Back on 2012

The island of Ireland performed reasonably well from a tourism perspective in 2012, despite the challenging international economic environment. By the end of this year, Tourism Ireland expects that around 7.27 million people will have visited the island of Ireland from around the world, yielding around €3.51 billion in revenue.

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “2012 has been a mixed year for overseas tourism. Certain markets have performed particularly well, including North America, which has had one of its strongest years ever; also Mainland Europe and long-haul markets like Australia. Other markets including Great Britain, our largest tourism market, have been more challenging, with a flat economy and weak consumer confidence having a significant impact on overseas travel by Britons throughout the year.”

Ambitious targets are in place for 2013, aiming to welcome 7.6 million visitors to the island of Ireland in 2013, representing growth in visitor numbers of +5% over 2012. Commenting on the year ahead, Niall Gibbons said: “As we look ahead to 2013, we are very much aware that the economic landscape presents a challenging environment for travel. However, despite the uncertainty surrounding the pace of economic recovery in our key source markets, we believe that our marketing activity around the globe in 2013 can deliver a +5% increase in visitor numbers, with North America and Mainland Europe representing significant potential. In particular, The Gathering Ireland 2013 and Derry~Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 present tremendous opportunities for us to shine a spotlight on the island of Ireland around the world.”

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