Ireland's tourism industry is continuing to suffer after new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported a further decrease in the number of foreign residents visiting the country.

During August, the number of overseas visits to Ireland fell by 13 per cent when compared with the same period in 2008, with British visitor numbers decreasing by nearly a quarter. The CSO statistics have shown a 10.9 per cent decline in the total number of visits made by overseas visitors to Ireland between January and August 2009 - 600,000 fewer than the same period in 2008.

Meanwhile, the number of Irish residents making trips overseas has also seen a decrease, with less than 5 million trips made during 2009 - a 10.3 per cent fall on 2008 figures.