The end of year CSO figures for 1996 show revenue from overseas visitors reaching a record £1.9 billion. This represents an increase of 12 per cent on 1995 and provides further evidence of the continuing excellent performance of Irish tourism. Last year was the third consecutive year of double digit revenue growth. I was also pleased to note from the recently published CSO figures that expenditure increased at a higher rate than overseas visitor numbers, which suggests that visitors to Ireland are spending more money per head.
With the roll-out of Tourism Brand Ireland in all our major markets and a significant expansion in air access to Ireland, I anticipate that tourism will continue to achieve significant growth in 1997.
In regard to Ireland's tourism and travel balance, the primary reason for the growth in outbound tourism in the past three years, particularly in 1994 and 1995, is due to Ireland's economic growth and the attendant increase in personal disposable incomes. A contributory factor would also be the increased competition in air and sea fares which, in addition to helping to reduce inbound fares to Ireland, has also made foreign travel more affordable for Irish citizens.
This increased propensity among Irish people to travel abroad has greatly benefited Irish carriers whose revenue from Irish tourists increased by 24 per cent from 1993 to 1996. In addition, Ireland's tourism and travel balance has been in our favour in recent times and I am very encouraged to note that the balance increased substantially in 1996 to £524 million, compared with £412 million in 1995.
With the launch of the domestic tourism marketing campaign this year, with a budget of more than £1 million, the intention is to reinvigorate the home holiday market, particularly in the off-peak and shoulder season. This campaign should go some way towards encouraging more Irish people to take their holidays at home.
I understand from the CSO that the figures published for 1996 are final. The only provisional element in the figures are the passenger fare receipts which may be subject to amendment once definitive figures are provided by the carriers.