Brexit - Ireland and the UK in numbers

• There were 6.5 million overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents in 2012. The number of trips had increased to 8.6 million by 2015, and visitors from Great Britain accounted for 41% of these trips.
• The total expenditure (excluding fares) by non-residents on overseas trips to Ireland rose from €2.9bn in 2012 to €4.2bn in 2015, and expenditure by visitors from Great Britain accounted for 23% of this expenditure in 2015.
• Average expenditure (excluding fares) in Ireland by all visitors was €487 while the average spend by visitors from Great Britain was €274.
• Visitors from Great Britain spent an average of 4.3 nights in Ireland compared to an average of 7.1 nights by all visitors.

• There were 7.7 million overseas trips to Ireland in 2015 which had at least one overnight stay.
• Holiday, leisure or recreation was the reason for 3.9 million of these trips while 2.2 million trips were to visit friends and relatives.
• Business was the main reason for 1.3 million trips during 2015.
• Residents of Great Britain made 30% of all holiday, leisure or recreation trips and 58% of trips to see friends or relatives.
• Nearly half (48%) of business trips to Ireland during 2015 were made by residents of Great Britain.

• Overseas visitors to Ireland spent 61.2 million bednights here in 2015, and 25% of these bednights relate to visitors from Great Britain.
• Overseas visitors spent 17.4 million bednights in hotels, 15.8 million with friends or relatives and 9.4 million in rented accommodation.
• British visitors accounted for a quarter of hotel bednights and 39% of bednights with friends and relatives. Just 14% of bednights in rented accommodation were related to British visitors.

• There were 8.6 million overseas trips to Ireland in 2015 of which 3.5 million (41%) were made by residents in Great Britain. Close to half (46%) of all overseas trips to Ireland in 2015 were for holidays, recreation or leisure and just over a quarter (27%) were to visit friends/relatives.
• Looking at the number of trips made by visitors from Great Britain, 37% were to visit friends/relatives while 34% were for holidays.
• The total expenditure (excluding fares) on overseas trips to Ireland in 2015 was €4.2bn, and more than half of this expenditure (55%) was on holidays with 19% to visit friends/relatives and 16% on business trips.
• The total expenditure (excluding fares) on overseas trips to Ireland in 2015 was €0.97bn by residents
• from Great Britain and of this 42% was spent on holidays, 33% on visiting friends/relatives and 23% on business trips.
• The average expenditure (excluding fares) per trip by visitors from all countries was €487 while the average spend by visitors from Great Britain was €274.
• Visitors to Ireland who arrived here for a holiday had the highest average expenditure (excluding fares) per trip.
• The average expenditure (excluding fares) on holiday trips by visitors from all countries was €582 while the average spend by visitors from Great Britain on holidays was €333.
• The total number of bednights in Ireland from overseas visitors was 61.2 million, of which visitors from Great Britain accounted for a quarter.
• The average length of stay per trip was 7.1 nights for all visitors and 4.3 nights for visitors from Great Britain.

• There were 6.62 million trips abroad by Irish residents in 2012. The number of trips abroad fell to 6.58 million in 2013 before increasing over the last two years to stand at 7.09 million trips in 2015. More than a quarter (27.2%) of the trips abroad in 2015 were to Great Britain while 4.7% were to Northern Ireland.
• In total, Irish residents spent 53.1 million nights abroad in 2012. The number of nightsabroad fell to 52 million in 2013 before increasing to 53.5 million nights by 2015. In 2015, about 15% of nights spent abroad by Irish residents were to Great Britain while 1.6% were to Northern Ireland.
• Total expenditure abroad by Irish residents was €5.3bn in 2012 and this amount steadily increased over the following three years to stand at €6bn in 2015. Irish residents spent €0.9bn in Great Britain in 2015 (15.7% of total expenditure) while they spent €84 million in Northern Ireland (1.4% of the total expenditure).
• The average length of a trip abroad by Irish residents was 7.5 nights in 2015. This compares to an average length of 4.1 nights for trips to Great Britain, 2.5 nights to Northern Ireland and 9.3 nights to countries excluding the United Kingdom.
• The average expenditure per trip abroad by Irish residents was €849 in 2015. This varied from €490 on average for trips to Great Britain and €1,035 for trips to countries excluding the United Kingdom.

• There were 12.3 million passenger arrivals on international flights into Ireland in 2013. This rose to 13.2 million in 2014 and increased again to 14.8 million in 2015.
• Of the 14.8 million passenger arrivals into Ireland in 2015, 39% arrived from the UK.
• In 2013, 12.4 million passengers departed from Ireland on an international flight and this increased to 13.2 million in 2014 and rose again to 14.9 million in 2015.
• Of the 14.9 million passenger departures from Ireland in 2015, 39% went to the UK.

• In 2013, 68.3 thousand tonnes of freight arrived into Ireland on international flights. By 2014 this figure had increased to 74.1 thousand tonnes and rose again to 79.0 thousand tonnes in 2015.
• Of the 79.0 thousand tonnes of freight which arrived on international flights into Ireland in 2015, 27.8% arrived from the United Kingdom, with the vast bulk arriving from England.
• In 2013, 59.8 thousand tonnes of freight departed from Ireland on international flights. This had grown to 64.9 thousand tonnes by 2014 and increased again to 70.8 thousand tonnes in 2015.
• Of the 70.8 thousand tonnes of freight which departed from Ireland in 2015, just over a quarter went to the United Kingdom, with the vast majority going to England.

• Just over 102,000 international commercial flights arrived in Ireland during 2013. The number of international commercial flight arrivals grew to 108,800 by 2014 and increased again to 116,000 by 2015.
• Of the 116,000 international commercial flights in 2015, 53,900 arrived from the United Kingdom of which 45,500 arrived from England. Thus close to half (46.5%) of all international commercial flight arrivals were from the UK.
• There were 102,100 international commercial flight departures from Ireland during 2013. This number grew to 108,400 by 2014 and increased again to 115,600 by 2015.
• Of the 115,600 international commercial flight departures in 2015, 53,100 departed to the United Kingdom of which 44,800 departed to England. Thus in 2015 close to half (45.9%) of all international commercial flight departures from Ireland went to the United Kingdom.

• The number of new private cars registered for the first time in Ireland rose from 76,237 in 2012 to 92,613 in 2014.
• The number of second hand (used) private cars registered rose from 37,902 to 51,663 over the time period 2012 to 2014.
• Over this time period the vast majority of second hand cars registered in Ireland arrived from the UK with 96.7% of all second hand cars registered in 2014 sourced from the UK.

• 31.4 million tonnes of goods were received at Irish ports in 2013, dropping to 29.1 million tonnes in 2014 before increasing to 33.6 million tonnes in 2015.
• Of the total amount of goods received at Irish ports in 2015, a third arrived from the United Kingdom. This proportion varied widely depending on the type of cargo involved. 85% of roll-on/roll-off traffic arrived from the United Kingdom while 41% of liquid bulk originated in the United Kingdom.
• In 2013 over 15 million tonnes of goods left Irish ports for destinations abroad, rising to 18.4 million tonnes in 2014 before dropping to just over 17 million tonnes by 2015.
• Of the total amount of goods forwarded abroad from Irish ports in 2015, half went to the United Kingdom. Most of the roll-on/roll-off traffic leaving Ireland (88%) and 36% of liquid bulk goods went to the United Kingdom.

Go to next chapter >>>   Appendix