This year is set to be a record year for tourism, according to Fáilte Ireland.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that more than 1.5 million trips were made to Ireland by overseas visitors in the first three months of 2015.
That represents a 14% rise on the same period last year.
The number of nights spent in Ireland by overseas travellers also grew by 12.6%, up from 8.89 million to 10.01 million.
The CSO says total tourism and travel earnings from overseas travellers to Ireland increased by 11.6% between the first quarter of 2014 and 2015, increasing from €699m to €780m.
When fares are excluded, total expenditure grew to €590m - an increase of 10.5% over the period.
The news comes as Fáilte Ireland is reminding towns that today is the closing date for entrants to apply to the 2015 Tourism Towns Award.
Alex Connolly from Fáilte Ireland says that these figures are good news for tourism operators across the country.
