Fine Gael TD for Wicklow/East Carlow, Andrew Doyle has welcomed the news that that the number of overseas visits to Ireland in the first five months of 2015 increased by 12.1% compared to the same period last year
“We are now in our fifth consecutive year of growth in visit numbers which will be of enormous benefit to Wicklow. I am very encouraged to see this trend which bodes very well for the tourism sector in our county with the increase in visitors providing a very welcomed boost, building on last year’s performance. With the summer season under way,the outlook for the industry is very positive, contributing to increased optimism across the hotel and guesthouse sector.
“Growth in visitor numbers is particularly visible in our North American market, which is up 17% between March and May and up almost 14% so far this year. Many of these visitors are high-spending, delivering a boost to our local economy,”
“In addition we are also seeing significant growth from Britain and the rest of Europe – which are vital overseas markets for Wicklow. This growth is of enormous importance considering the contribution tourism makes to the wider economy by supporting jobs and almost 4% of gross national product.”
“Governments commitment to pro-tourism initiatives, such as the recently launched Ancient East Trail, the 9% VAT rate, in particular, has been of enormous importance to the industry, helping to balance and augment tourism businesses when competing with international destinations for visitors. It continues to create much-needed employment across the country”
“With overall trips to Ireland up by 12.1% to just over 3 million visits and with growth trend shows no sign of abating, indeed if this trend continues we will be looking at a record year for overseas visitor number’s to Wicklow” said Doyle
