Jim Murphy - PREM Group’s Managing Director

• Overseas visitor numbers for August at 946,000 were down just under 2% on August ’07, according to the CSO results for the month, released today.
• Following a very disappointing July the UK market bounced back and visitors for the month were up by 3.5% on August ’07.
• North American visitors were down by over 10% for August, following a decline of 6% in July.
• Continental European visitors were down by 7.5% on August ’07.  This was the first month to show any significant fall from this market.  Germany and Spain grew by 6% and 3% respectively for the month, while France and Italy fell by 7% and 21% respectively.

  An even more direct impact of the prevailing economic conditions saw the Polish market drop 28% in August.

• Overall visitor arrivals for the 8 months to the end of August now stand at 5.483 million, which is down just 1% on the same period in ’07 (though interestingly still 4% ahead of the January to August period of 2006).  However, it now seems probable that the drop on last year will accelerate in the remaining months of this year.
• Perhaps it was the weather or just our natural exuberance, or both, that accounted for the 3.7% growth in trips taken overseas by Irish residents in August.

  Irish trips abroad for the first 8 months are up over 5% on last year, but the rate of growth has declined from the 12.2% growth rate between the same period in 2006 and 2007.  Wonder what August ’09 will bring?

October 16th 2008