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Visitor numbers into Ireland for the first nine months of 2019 were marginally up on the equivalent period of 2018.

 Commenting on figures published by the CSO for overseas tourists and overseas tourism revenue to Ireland for the first nine months of 2019, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO indicate a mixed picture. The figures confirm that we welcomed almost 8.4 million overseas tourists during January-September 2019 – up +1% on the same period in 2018. Tourists from Britain (almost +1%) and Mainland Europe (+2%) grew marginally and we saw stronger growth from North America (+4%) and long-haul markets (+6%). However, we’ve seen growth from North America slow as the year progressed, with numbers for Q3 only down -3%.

 

DER Touristik, a major German tour operator and the largest tour operator from Mainland Europe to the island of Ireland, has announced it will host its annual travel academy in Killarney, in October 2020. The event is always held in leading travel destinations – most recently in Cuba in 2019 and in Finland in 2018. Killarney beat off challenges from a number of other top destinations to host the 2020 event.

 The congress is DER Touristik’s annual event and will take place over three nights, in October 2020. Around 300 top German travel agents, as well as influential travel journalists and senior managers from DER Touristik – are expected to participate.

In addition to attending the travel academy, delegates will have the opportunity to participate in specially designed pre-conference tours across the island of Ireland – to enhance their knowledge of the tourism experiences and attractions on offer here and allow them to sample our legendary hospitality and welcome.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread, and its development partner Red Rock Developments, has secured its fourth hotel location in Dublin city centre.

Located on Gloucester Street in the city’s south docklands, the site will be redeveloped into a 10-storey hotel comprising 108 bedrooms as part of Premier Inn’s ambitions to grow its existing presence as a single trading hotel at Dublin Airport to more than 2,500 rooms in the capital, and beyond.

 Since signalling its intention to expand into the Irish market in 2018, Whitbread has secured 635 Premier Inn rooms in Dublin city centre in four hotels – at South Great George’s Street, Jervis Street, Castleforbes Business Park and now Gloucester Street. The hotels, which are a mixture of freehold and leasehold acquisitions, are planned to open from early 2021 onwards.

The number of passengers who used Dublin Airport declined in November compared to the same month last year, the first monthly drop seen since March 2014.

More than 2.2 million passengers travelled through the State’s largest airport last month, a 1 per cent fall compared to November 2018.

 Dublin Airport operator DAA said the fall was seen on all route sectors except Europe, which recorded a 2 per cent rise with almost 1.1 million passengers travelling to and from European destinations during the month.

 The decline was attributed to airlines withdrawing their services or reducing capacity on existing routes during the typically quieter winter months.