Germany is another important generating region for Ireland’s tourist industry. In 1998 there were three hundred and ten thousand visitors. It fell by five thousand in 1999 but rose by fourteen thousand in 2000. In 2001 the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the British Isles and the global effects of September 11th contributed to a fall in the number of tourists by thirty-four thousand. The introduction of the Euro in the same year had an unforeseen effect on Germany’s economy- it went into recession. Many would say that the Euro was the catalyst to Germany’s current difficulties. Since reunification in 1990 the prosperous west has had to bear the brunt of economic efforts to bring the former Communist controlled east to the same level. With a serious recession in progress and expendable income down it is obvious to see why fewer Germans are travelling to Ireland. The irony is that the majority of German tourist are backpackers and do not usually spend large amounts of money in Irish hotels, preferring youth hostels. The market cautiously rose in 2002 by three thousand
The United States of America is the second largest generating area after Britain to Ireland’s tourist industry. There were seven hundred and eighty nine thousand visitors in 1998 which rose to eight hundred and sixty thousand visitors in 1999 and nine hundred and fifty eight thousand in 2000. It fell in 2001 due to September 11th and foot and mouth to eight hundred and twenty nine thousand. Interestingly, the USA is one of only a few generating countries that tourist numbers continued to fall in 2002, by 70,000. This seems to be due to the fact that Americans were still afraid to travel and this was coupled with the continued threat of terrorism and the looming war in Iraq.
In conclusion the fluctuating visitor numbers over this five year period can be attributed to the events of September 11th, the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the potential war in Iraq and other economic factors such as recessions and the introduction of the Euro.
NITB - Table 2
The above table shows the number and type of trips made by tourists from 1997 to 2001 to Northern Ireland. In 2001 the number one reason why people visited was to visit friends and relatives. This was a total of seven hundred and seventy-three thousand visitors that fell into this category in 2001 making up 46% of all the trips in 2001, almost half. The next most popular type of visit was for business purposes making up 30% of all total visits with a total of five hundred and one thousand tourists, more than a quarter of all visits in that year. The third largest type of trip were holidays which made up 16% of all trips with two hundred and seventy four thousand tourists visiting for this purpose.
Table 3 -
The top three groups of UK residents that travel within the United Kingdom are from the south east, London and North West Merseyside. Fifteen percent of all trips were from the southeast, and both London and North West Merseyside made eleven percent of all trips. The reason for the south east and London’s high percentage of total trips seems to be due to the fact that the south of England (including London) is a much richer area of the country, and as such the people there have a much higher amount of disposable income than other areas. The south of England also has better infrastructures with a plethora of airports in the local vicinity, excellent motorways and excellent rail connections. The reasons for the high amount of people travelling from North West Merseyside would seem to be due to the high amounts of investment in the area, the prominent port in Liverpool and the improvements to local roads, motorways and railways.
Turning to the international markets, it is clear that the United States of America is the most visited country in the world with sixteen percent of all total visits. The next highest amount of overseas visitors were from France with twelve percent of all total trips. Finally the third highest number of visitors to the UK were from Germany with ten percent of all trips to the UK were from there. American tourists visit the UK mainly to be sightseers who want to see attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and the home of Britain’s most famous band, the Beatles, in Liverpool. French and German tourists prefer to visit natural areas and famous buildings that belong to Britain’s heritage. They also prefer outdoor activities such as hiking.
