Tourism Ireland and the Irish government have welcomed a "positive start" to 2012 after it was revealed that inbound visitor numbers had increased between December and February.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office reported a 2.7 per cent growth in the number of overseas residents visiting Ireland during the period, when compared with December 2010-February 2011.

The latest figures showed "strong growth" in inbound numbers from the UK market and a 1 per cent increase from Europe, although the North American market fell 4.3 per cent.

Leo Varadkar, minister for transport, tourism and sport, said: "This year has got off to a positive start, and it's good to see visitor numbers continuing to grow into February."

Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons added: "Particularly welcome is the growth of 6.6 per cent in visitor numbers from the UK, our largest and most important market."

Details: www.tourismireland.com

Image: Tourism Ireland/Eoghan Kavanagh