Tourism Ireland has published figures showing a massive 21% rise in the number of visitors to it site, with a massive influx of web traffic totalling 6 million hits in June, an increase of 1.3 million since May.

Much of this increase has been accredited to marketing techniques, according to head of emarketing Brian Harte "Tourism Ireland is increasing its digital marketing activity across the world and we now invest close to 25% of our total marketing budget online. We are also continually enhancing the website to increase its effectiveness in marketing the island of Ireland as a premier holiday destination and as a platform to help industry partners 'close the sale.”

The rise in web visitors is likely to be reflected in an influx of tourists arriving on our shores, boosting local economies as tourists plump for car hire, hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions.