I reject the implication in the Deputy's question that the figures for tourism are either unreliable of inaccurate. The overseas tourism and travel staistics published by the Central Statistics Office, the CSO, cover all visits and related expenditure by nonresidents to Ireland.
The exclusion of any grouping of nonresidents from these statistics for reasons of purpose of journey, nationality and/or country of birth, could not be considered. Any such exclusion would mean that the resulting statistics would not properly cover Ireland's international tourism and travel balance of payments transactions.
Overseas visitors to Ireland are classsified by route of travel, area of residence and reason of journey. The details published annually in respect of calendar years give separate estimates for four categories of reason for journey — tourist; business; visit to relatives and other.