New figures show Ireland's tourism industry enjoyed a boost between May and July of this year.
The total number of trips to Ireland jumped 11.8% compared to the same time last year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Visits from North America saw the biggest increase of 15%, while 11.9% more trips were made from Great Britain.
Trips to Ireland by tourists from other European countries increased by 11.2%, and trips from other areas of the world increased by 4.5%.
Altogether, an estimated 2,589,300 trips were made to Ireland between May and July, with the total for the year so far at 4,814,600 trips.
The CSO says Irish residents also made more trips abroad in the second quarter - the total was up 9.4% on the 2014 figure.
Minister of State for Tourism Michael Ring TD said, "I’m delighted to see further evidence that the measures introduced by this Government to help the tourism industry continue to deliver results. The figures for the year to date suggest that 2015 will beat all previous records in terms of the numbers visiting our shores.
"While this is very satisfactory we are determined to ensure that the positive momentum is maintained," he added.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, also welcomed the figures, saying “this was a strong performance and reflects the sentiment we are hearing from our tourism industry partners overseas, including tour operators and carriers, as well as tourism businesses here at home".
He added that they will soon launch an 'extensive' autumn campaign, explaining that, "the period September to December traditionally yields as much as 30% of our annual overseas tourism business".
