ONE in five foreign visitors to Ireland complain about the cost of living, bad roads and the weather they experience when they visit the country.
But a new raft of tourism statistics released yesterday show that more people were coming here last year than ever before.
What they liked most were the people and the scenery.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the number of overseas trips to Ireland grew by 27pc to more than eight million between 2000 and 2007.
Most of our visitors come from the UK, and over half of all trips were for holiday purposes, with the State earning a just over a massive €4.9bn in 2007 alone, a CSO study of tourism between 2000 and 2007 showed. But, predictably, a lot of people didn't like our prices or climate. The most frequently mentioned disadvantages were the weather (19pc), the prices (18pc) and roads (17pc).
On the plus side, the Irish people were mentioned by 38pc of visitors as the top advantage along with scenery (32pc) and our culture (17pc). Dublin was the most popular region in 2007 with 61pc of visitors spending at least one night in the region and the Guinness Store House was the most popular attraction.
The entry fee has swelled to €15 in recent years but last year 947,000 people paid the price with the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare the second most visited tourist attraction. The CSO figures also reveal the scale of the Celtic Tiger boom years. Irish people made 7,942,000 domestic trips in 2007 spending €1.5bn in the process. Domestic trips grew by 45pc since 2000 and expenditure almost doubled.
We made 7,830,000 foreign trips in 2007 which was more than twice that in 2000. Foreign holiday trips increased by 145pc in this period. Total expenditure on all foreign trips amounted to just over €7.3bn.
Shopping remains a favoured activity, particularly to North America where shopping accounts for nearly 22pc of spending in what the CSO called a "well-established phenomenon in recent years".
Foreign holiday trips taken in the first and last quarters of the year almost trebled between 2000 and 2007. The most popular activity taken on domestic holidays by Irish residents in 2007 was visiting National Parks while for overseas visitors it was hiking/hill walking.
But a new raft of tourism statistics released yesterday show that more people were coming here last year than ever before.
What they liked most were the people and the scenery.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the number of overseas trips to Ireland grew by 27pc to more than eight million between 2000 and 2007.
Most of our visitors come from the UK, and over half of all trips were for holiday purposes, with the State earning a just over a massive €4.9bn in 2007 alone, a CSO study of tourism between 2000 and 2007 showed. But, predictably, a lot of people didn't like our prices or climate. The most frequently mentioned disadvantages were the weather (19pc), the prices (18pc) and roads (17pc).
On the plus side, the Irish people were mentioned by 38pc of visitors as the top advantage along with scenery (32pc) and our culture (17pc). Dublin was the most popular region in 2007 with 61pc of visitors spending at least one night in the region and the Guinness Store House was the most popular attraction.
The entry fee has swelled to €15 in recent years but last year 947,000 people paid the price with the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare the second most visited tourist attraction. The CSO figures also reveal the scale of the Celtic Tiger boom years. Irish people made 7,942,000 domestic trips in 2007 spending €1.5bn in the process. Domestic trips grew by 45pc since 2000 and expenditure almost doubled.
We made 7,830,000 foreign trips in 2007 which was more than twice that in 2000. Foreign holiday trips increased by 145pc in this period. Total expenditure on all foreign trips amounted to just over €7.3bn.
Shopping remains a favoured activity, particularly to North America where shopping accounts for nearly 22pc of spending in what the CSO called a "well-established phenomenon in recent years".
Foreign holiday trips taken in the first and last quarters of the year almost trebled between 2000 and 2007. The most popular activity taken on domestic holidays by Irish residents in 2007 was visiting National Parks while for overseas visitors it was hiking/hill walking.
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