Visitor numbers increase in first quarter - CSO
Overseas trips to Ireland increased by 7.3 % from January to March of this year.
The main reason people came to Ireland was for a holiday, followed by a trip to visit family or friends, and then business purposes.
The money generated by those trips increased by 10.8% to €688m in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.
But the number of trips made by Irish people overseas is slightly down - 2.1% less people travelled abroad in the first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Great Britain remains Ireland's biggest market with around half of visitors to Ireland coming from there.
The US and Canada is the next biggest market, while tourists from France have also seen an increase this year.
However, Irish people took fewer trips at home last year - domestic trips fell by 1.9% to seven million in 2012.
Less than half of those trips (48%) were classed as holidays while a third (33.8 %) were visits to friends and relatives.
Trips abroad, meanwhile, numbered 6.6 million - a modest increase of 86,000 on 2011.
Overall last year, Irish people spent €1.3bn on trips at home and €5.3bn on those abroad.
