Irish Tourism Set For Record Year

Ireland is on course to attract more tourists this year than ever before, the country's tourism minister said, as the European Union's fastest-growing economy reaps the benefit of a weakening euro.

Older industries such as tourism and agriculture have become an increasing focus for the Irish government since the collapse of the country's property bubble in 2008 led to a bailout by the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

Tourist trips, mainly from Britain and the United States, were up 12 percent in the first five months of the year on an annual basis, the central statistics office said.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Paschal Donohoe said the numbers indicated 2015 was set to be a "record year" for the industry.

The near 20 percent fall in the euro against the US dollar since the start of 2014 was "the big factor" behind the increased visitor numbers, said Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion Stockbrokers.

The country's tourism board said that last year overseas visitors accounted for around EUR€4.1 billion (USD$4.6 billion) of revenue, boosted by cuts to value added tax on tourism-related services and scrapped air travel taxes.