Some 390,700 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in December 2024, a decrease of 12.2% compared with December 2023.
The visitors spent €328.6 million on their trips (excluding fares), down 20.4% compared with December 2023.
The largest contingent of visitors came from Great Britain (43.6%), followed by the United States (12.3%), and Spain/Portugal (7.2%).
The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was to visit family or friends (47.2%).
The visitors stayed a total of 3.9 million nights in the country, a drop of 14.4% when compared with December 2023.
The average length of stay for foreign resident overnight visitors was 9.9 nights, down from an average of 10.1 nights in December 2023.
The Inbound Tourism series estimates the number of overseas foreign resident visits to Ireland and the value of these visits to Ireland’s tourism industry. The series is based on the CSO Passenger Survey, which is carried out at Irish airports and seaports. Note that the Inbound Tourism series does not capture data on residents of Northern Ireland visiting Ireland as a tourism destination. However, the series does present estimates on the number of Northern Ireland resident trips to overseas destinations travelling via Ireland. The series also presents estimates of the number of trips made by Irish residents heading overseas (i.e. outbound tourism). To gain a better understanding of internal tourism in Ireland (i.e. both inbound and domestic tourism), users should refer to both Inbound Tourism (for inbound visitor data) and Household Travel Survey (for domestic travel data)
Foreign visitors in the context of this release refers to overseas residents who have stayed at least one night in Ireland. These overseas residents include both Irish and non-Irish nationals but specifically exclude residents of Northern Ireland.
Foreign visitors who depart Ireland via the airports and seaports of Northern Ireland are not captured in the survey.
Some 390,700 foreign residents completed their visits to Ireland in December 2024, a decrease of 12.2% compared with December 2023. These visitors spent 3.9 million nights in Ireland, a drop of 14.4% compared with the same month in 2023. The visitors’ average length of stay was 9.9 nights, down 0.2 nights from December 2023. The visitors spent €328.6 million on their trips, a decrease of 20.4% compared with December 2023. The average cost of their trips excluding fares in December 2024 was €841, whereas the average cost 12 months previously was €927.
Inbound Tourism, December 2024 versus December 2023 | ||||
Dec-23 | Dec-24 | Change | ||
Visitors ('000s) | 445.2 | 390.7 | -54.5 | -12.2% |
Nights ('000s) | 4,504.3 | 3,855.9 | -648.4 | -14.4% |
Average length of stay (nights) | 10.1 | 9.9 | -0.2 | -2.5% |
Expenditure - excluding fares (€million) | 412.9 | 328.6 | -84.3 | -20.4% |
Mean expenditure - excluding fares (€) | 927 | 841 | -86 | -9.3% |
X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|
Jan | 400 | 451.9 |
Feb | 337 | 433.3 |
Mar | 425.2 | 521.8 |
Apr | 461.9 | 549.1 |
May | 573.3 | 622.3 |
Jun | 619.9 | 669.5 |
Jul | 650.2 | 655.4 |
Aug | 737.6 | 763.6 |
Sep | 582.1 | 578.1 |
Oct | 577.4 | 548.1 |
Nov | 447.5 | 407.7 |
Dec | 445.2 | 390.7 |
In total, 1,465,200 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024, a decrease of 1.3% compared with December 2023. The majority of departing passengers (63.6%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 9.7% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (3.9%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.7%), or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.1%). Some 26.7% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 390,700 visitors in total. The remainder of this release focuses exclusively on the characteristics and activities of these foreign resident overnight visitors (referred to simply as foreign visitors).
Of the 390,700 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024, the highest proportion (43.6%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 170,300 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (12.3%) was from the United States, accounting for 48,000 visitors. The third highest proportion (7.2%) came from Spain/Portugal comprising a further 27,900 visitors. By way of comparison, in December 2023 there were 187,000 visitors from Great Britain, 53,300 from the United States, and 38,200 from Spain/Portugal.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024 spent a total of 3,855,900 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, the Other Europe visitors spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 1,666,600 (43.2%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was United States of America & Canada, making up 929,200 (24.1%) of the total nights. Visitors from the United Kingdom were third most important, accounting for a further 841,600 (21.8%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 418,500 (10.9%) of the nights. Compared with December 2023, the total visitor nights in the country fell by 14.4%. The average length of stay decreased, from 10.1 nights in December 2023 to 9.9 nights in December 2024.
Among the 390,700 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024, more had come to visit family or friends than for any other reason. Some 184,500 (47.2%) had visiting family or friends as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was for holiday, with 108,000 (27.6%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 55,600 (14.2%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons. Compared with December 2023, visitors visiting family or friends increased by 2.2% whilst those visiting for holiday fell by 25.8%, and those visiting for business or work fell by 28.8%.
Among the 390,700 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024, some 215,000 (55.0%) stayed in their own property or the property of family or friends. Another 128,600 (32.9%) of the visitors stayed in a hotel. A further 15,000 (3.8%) of the visitors used rented/self-catering as their main accommodation type, while 6,800 (1.7%) of the foreign visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type. By way of comparison, in December 2023 some 203,800 visitors stayed in their own property or the property of family and friends, 180,500 stayed in a hotel, 15,700 stayed in rented/self-catering accommodation and 11,800 used guest house/bed & breakfast types.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024 spent a total of €328.6 million, excluding fares, on their trips (a decrease of 20.4% compared with December 2023).
The total amount spent by foreign visitors (including fares) was €433.0 million. Broken down by expense category, the costliest subheading was day-to-day spending (incidental expenditures incurred during their visit such as eating out, entrance fees, public transport, etc., but excluding accommodation), amounting to €196.4 million (45.4% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €121.6 million (28.1% of the total). Fares cost a further €104.5 million (24.1% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €10.5 million (2.4% of the total).
Overall, in December 2024 the typical foreign visitor spent €1,108 (€841 excluding fares) on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €267 on their fare, €27 on prepayments, €311 on accommodation, and €503 on day-to-day expenses. In December 2023 the comparable mean expenditure on these items was €228, €79, €389, and €460 respectively.
X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|
Jan | 231.1 | 297 |
Feb | 217.7 | 283.7 |
Mar | 323.4 | 417 |
Apr | 370.7 | 418.2 |
May | 477.4 | 602.9 |
Jun | 601 | 684.4 |
Jul | 621.3 | 649.9 |
Aug | 733.2 | 820.1 |
Sep | 600 | 676.9 |
Oct | 515.8 | 534.3 |
Nov | 333.8 | 315.9 |
Dec | 412.9 | 328.6 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (30 January 2025) published Inbound Tourism December 2024.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said:
“The results show that 390,700 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2024, a decrease of 12.2% compared with December 2023.
The visitors' expenditure in Ireland (i.e. excluding fares) was €328.6 million, a decrease of 20.4% compared with December 2023.
The most important tourism market, in terms of revenue generated was Other Europe, with visitors from Continental Europe accounting for 40.9% of all visitor expenditure. This was followed by United States of America & Canada (27.4%), Great Britain (22.5%), and the rest of the world (9.3%).
The most frequent reason for their journey (47.2%) was to visit family or friends.
More of the visitors stayed in their own property or with family or friends (55.0%) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical visit lasted 9.9 nights.”