The number of Irish people travelling abroad continues to increase, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The number of Irish people travelling abroad continues to increase, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
In the first three months of the year 1.39 million people travelled abroad, a rise of 15 per cent on the same period last year. The vast majority of these visits were to countries in the European Union, with 1.143 million journeys made to these countries.
While overseas the CSO estimates people were spending €1,117.4 million abroad in the first quarter, compared with €949.1 million in 2005.
Just over 110,000 people visited North America over the same period, with 36,000 visitors going to countries in Africa and just 17,000 travelling to Asia and the Middle East.
Over the same period there were 1.45 million domestic journeys requiring at least one night's accommodation, an increase of just 2 per cent on the same period last year. The number of nights spent in B&Bs and hotels fell during this period by 11 per cent.
Of these 691,000 were domestic holiday trips, an increase of 20 per cent compared with 2005. The category measuring domestic trips to visit friends and families dropped by 12 per cent over the same period.
The CSO noted that although the number of international holiday trips taken in the first quarter of 2006 increased by 18 per cent on the same period last year, trips to visit friends and relatives increased by 26 per cent.
The number of overseas visitors holidaying in Ireland grew by 12 per cent in the first quarter. Visitor numbers from Britain are up by 12 per cent there has been a 20 per cent growth from mainland Europe and a 1.7 per cent rise in numbers travelling from north America.
Figures from the CSO have shown overseas visitor numbers to Ireland were up 12.7 per cent in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period last year.
But the estimated spending during domestic trips grew by 16 per cent from €187.7 million in the first quarter of 2005 to €217.4 million in the same period in 2006.
The figures contained bad news for guest houses and B&Bs, which saw a 28 per cent fall in bed nights. Overnight stays at hotels were also down by 1 per cent.