More people than ever will be remembering this summer in Dublin – and every other part of Ireland – according to the tourism figures released by the Irish Central Statistics Office.

In the three months from June through August of 2013, the number of visitors from North America totaled 437,900, an increase of  20 percent. The overall number of trips to Ireland jumped by 6.7 percent compared with the same period last year.

Trips by British residents numbered 879,500, an increase of 4.7 percent, while visits originating in all other European countries were up almost 1 percent, to 794,700.

Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar credits the “great year” for tourism on three things: value, access and promotion.

“Improved value for money, better air access and The Gathering have all combined to give us an excellent year for inbound tourism,” he told the Irish Times.

The government’s plan is to keep the momentum rolling.

“It looks like...a record year from North America and I am reassured by growth from Britain,” he said. “We now need to build on thi success in 2014.”