Close to eight million people visited Ireland last year while almost seven million left the country to visit overseas destinations, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday.
There were 7.7 million overseas visits to Ireland in 2006, an increase of 10.5 per cent on 2005. Meanwhile, 6,848,000 Irish people made overseas trips last year, up 12 per cent.
The figures, released as part of the CSO's tourism and travel study for the fourth quarter of 2006, show that more than four million British residents visited Ireland in 2006. Nearly 2.3 million were from elsewhere in Europe, while those arriving from the United States and Canada increased to more than one million.
Visitors who spent at least one night in Ireland stayed for an average of 7.6 days, the same as 2005. The average estimated stay of Irish people going abroad was eight days.
The figures also reveal that more Irish people are departing our shores for foreign climes during winter. Statistics show that Irish overseas trips between October and December 2006 numbered some 1.53 million, an increase of 16 per cent.
Irish visitors also spent an estimated €1.18 billion on their travels during the three- month period, while earnings from visitors to Ireland accounted for €983 million.