THE NUMBER of overseas trips taken by Irish residents last year exceeded the number of visitors to the State for the first time since records began in 1952.
During 2008 there were 7,877,000 visits abroad by Irish residents, up 2 per cent on the previous year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
This compares with 7,839,000 trips to Ireland by visitors, a drop of 2 per cent from the 8,012,000 visits recorded in 2007.
There was a sharp fall in the number of visitors from North America in particular, with trips down by 10 per cent compared to 2007. Spending also declined, with travellers spending 26 per cent less last year.
Business trips to Ireland increased by 10 per cent in 2008, and spending rose by more than 7 per cent. However, this was offset by an 8 per cent decrease in both expenditure and visits by holidaymakers.
The average length of stay for visitors to Ireland last year was 8.1 nights.
Fine Gael said the latest figures revealed a sector in crisis and called on the Government to scrap the €10 departure tax which was introduced last month.
