Tourism agency Fáilte Ireland has welcomed the announcement that inbound visitor numbers to the country increased by nearly 9 per cent during the first quarter of the year.

On 26 May, the Central Statistics Office published quarterly figures which found that nearly 1.2 million people travelled to Ireland - compared with less than 1.1 million in Q1 2010.

It is the first increase in inbound tourist numbers since July 2008, although there was a 12 per cent drop in the number of Irish residents travelling abroad in Q1 2011.

Fáilte Ireland chief executive officer Shaun Quinn said: "While we expected an upturn this year, these figures are very welcome news and exceed all industry expectations.

"Following fast on the heels of the visits by the Queen and President Obama, today's news will give the tourism sector a great boost as it heads into the high season."

Meanwhile, Irish tourism minister Leo Varadkar revealed that the visits of the Queen and US President Barack Obama generated EUR300m (£266.7m) worth of publicity for Ireland.

Varadkar said: "We must all take advantage of this tremendous global coverage and ensure that 2011 is the year that Irish tourism finally makes a recovery."

Image: President Barack Obama visits Moneygall