And our sights are firmly fixed on the German market. Even though a record number of Germans 450,000 came to Ireland this year, this accounted for a tiny fraction of the foreign trips taken by them.
Irish Tourism bodies will be looking across both the Atlantic and the Irish Sea in a bid to boost visitor numbers in the new year, after the industry celebrated its best year since 2009.
In its review of 2013 and outlook for the year ahead, the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) revealed that almost seven million overseas visitors injected more than €4bn into the economy. The past year saw it increase by 6pc over the previous year, and led to the creation of some 15,000 jobs in the industry.
12,000 jobs lost as Ireland s tourism takes a dive
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Serious Doubt Cast Over July 19 Travel Plan
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Government rules out extra bank holiday this year as it could be too costly for businesses
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