Some 524,100 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in December 2025, an increase of 34% when compared with December 2024. Overall, for the full year 2025, total foreign visitor numbers fell by 3% to 6.4 million.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland in December 2025 stayed a total of 4.8 million nights in the country, and their estimated expenditure (excluding fares) amounted to €427 million.
For the full year 2025, visitors from Great Britain accounted for the largest share (38%), compared with Continental Europe (33%), North America (24%) and Rest of the World (5%).
For the 12 months of 2025, 40% of overnight foreign visitors indicated that the main purpose for their trip was for Holidays, Leisure & Recreation, 35% said it was for Visiting Friends & Relatives, and 15% of trips were for Business reasons.
Overnight foreign visitor nights throughout 2025 amounted to 47.9 million nights, down by 3% compared with 2024, while the average length of stay for trips made during 2025 was 7.5 nights, the same as in 2024.
Expenditure by foreign visitors for the full year 2025 was estimated at €5.5 billion, down 9% compared with 2024 (€6 billion), and up 1% compared with 2023 (€5.4 billion).
The Inbound Tourism release is published every month and provides unique and timely insights on visitor trips to Ireland.
This release is based on the CSO Passenger Survey which is collected from approximately 13,000 departing passengers per month (of which typically 3,000-4,000 are foreign visitors) at the country’s international ports and airports by a team of dedicated CSO Tourist Enumerator staff. The data collected is calibrated against passenger flow data provided by the ports and airports.
Users should note that visitors are counted not by nationality but by country of residence, as such, foreign passport holders who are normally resident in Ireland are included as domestic travellers and not foreign visitors, while Irish passport holders who reside abroad and make a trip to Ireland are counted as visitors.
Foreign visitors in the context of this release refers to overseas residents who have stayed at least one night in Ireland. Visits from residents of Northern Ireland are not captured. Foreign visitors who depart Ireland via the airports and seaports of Northern Ireland are not captured in the survey.
To learn more about the methodology, please see the accompanying FAQ.
Some 524,100 foreign residents completed their visits to Ireland in December 2025, an increase of 34% compared with December 2024. These visitors spent 4.8 million nights in Ireland, showing an increase of 24% with the same month in 2024. The visitors’ average length of stay was 9.1 nights, down 8% on December 2024. Visitors spent €427 million on their trips, an increase of 30% compared with December 2024.
| Inbound Tourism, December 2025 versus December 2024 | ||||
| Dec-24 | Dec-25 | Change | ||
| Visitors ('000s) | 390.7 | 524.1 | 133.4 | 34.1% |
| Nights ('000s) | 3,855.9 | 4,773.8 | 917.9 | 23.8% |
| Average length of stay (nights) | 9.9 | 9.1 | -0.8 | -7.7% |
| Expenditure - excluding fares (€million) | 328.6 | 427.0 | 98.4 | 30.0% |
| Mean expenditure - excluding fares (€) | 841 | 815 | -26 | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Jan | 400 | 451.9 | 338.9 |
| Feb | 337 | 433.3 | 304.3 |
| Mar | 425.2 | 521.8 | 441.2 |
| Apr | 461.9 | 549.1 | 528.1 |
| May | 573.3 | 622.3 | 560.5 |
| Jun | 619.9 | 669.5 | 654.5 |
| Jul | 650.2 | 655.4 | 646.4 |
| Aug | 737.6 | 763.6 | 772.8 |
| Sep | 582.1 | 578.1 | 604.5 |
| Oct | 577.4 | 548.1 | 568.9 |
| Nov | 447.5 | 407.7 | 460.3 |
| Dec | 445.2 | 390.7 | 524.1 |
In total, 1,672,600 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025, a 14% increase compared with December 2024. The majority of departing passengers (59.4%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 9.2% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in Ireland (3.1%), foreign resident transfer passengers (5.0%), or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.2%). Some 31.3% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 524,100 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 524,100 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025, the highest proportion (39.7%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 208,300 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (14.2%) was from the United States, accounting for 74,300 visitors. The third highest proportion (7.1%) came from Spain & Portugal comprising a further 37,300 visitors. By way of comparison, in December 2024 there were 170,300 visitors from Great Britain, 48,000 from the United States, and 27,900 from Spain & Portugal.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025 spent a total of 4,773,800 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other European visitors (i.e. European overseas visitors excluding Great Britain) spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 2,278,100 (47.7%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was Great Britain making up 999,200 (20.9%) of the total nights. Visitors from North America were the third most important, accounting for a further 958,900 (20.1%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 537,600 (11.3%) of the nights. Compared with December 2024, the total visitor nights in the country rose by 23.8%. The average length of stay was 9.1 nights in December 2025 down from 9.9 nights in December 2024.
Among the 524,100 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025, more had come to visit family and friends than for any other reason, with some 247,100 (47.1%) stating visiting family and friends as the main reason for their trip. The next most common reason was for holiday, with 158,000 (30.1%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 69,900 (13.3%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.
Among the 524,100 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025, some 265,300 (50.6%) stayed in their own property or with family as their main accommodation type. Another 191,100 (36.5%) of the visitors stayed in a hotel as their main accommodation type. Some 21,700 (4.1%) of the foreign visitors used rented/self-catering as their main accommodation type, while 14,400 (2.8%) of the visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast accommodation as their main accommodation type.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2025 spent a total of €427.0 million, excluding fares, on their trips (an increase of 30% compared with December 2024).
The total amount spent by foreign visitors (including fares) was €561.5 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 €255.7 million (45.5% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €160.4 million (28.6% of the total). Fares cost a further €134.5 million (23.9% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €11.0 million (2.0% of the total).
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Jan | 231.1 | 297 | 214 |
| Feb | 217.7 | 283.7 | 195.6 |
| Mar | 323.4 | 417 | 325.7 |
| Apr | 370.7 | 418.2 | 375.4 |
| May | 477.4 | 602.9 | 477.2 |
| Jun | 601 | 684.4 | 646.5 |
| Jul | 621.3 | 649.9 | 624.1 |
| Aug | 733.2 | 820.1 | 743.7 |
| Sep | 600 | 676.9 | 570.5 |
| Oct | 515.8 | 534.3 | 528.8 |
| Nov | 333.8 | 315.9 | 347.1 |
| Dec | 412.9 | 328.6 | 427 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 January 2026) published Inbound Tourism December 2025.
Commenting on the release, Edward Duffy, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said:
“The results show that just over 524,000 foreign resident visitors completed a trip to Ireland in December 2025, an increase of 34% compared with December 2024 and up 18% compared with 2023. December typically accounts for around 6-8% of foreign resident visitors over the year.
The increase in visitor numbers in December 2025 coincides with significant growth in departing passenger numbers, particularly at Dublin Airport. Overall, passenger departures at the main airports and seaports increased by more than 207,000 passengers (+14%) in December 2025 compared with December 2024. It is also worth noting that December 2024 Dublin Port passenger numbers may have been impacted by the temporary closure of Holyhead Port following Storm Darragh.
Foreign visitors spent just under 4.8 million nights in Ireland in December 2025 and expenditure - excluding fares - was estimated at €427 million.
Full Year 2025
Looking at figures for the full year 2025, the total number of overnight visitors from overseas was just over 6.4 million, a decrease of 3% compared with 6.6 million visitors in 2024, and an increase of 2% compared with 6.3 million visitors in 2023.
Visitors living in Great Britain accounted for the largest share (38%) in 2025, compared with 33% who were resident in Continental Europe, 24% from North America, and 5% from the Rest of the World. In 2025, 40% of visitors indicated that the main purpose for their trip was for Holidays, Leisure & Recreation, while Visiting Friends & Relatives accounted for 35%, and 15% of trips were for Business reasons.
Overnight foreign visitor nights in 2025 amounted to just less than 47.9 million, down by 3% compared with 2024, while the average length of stay for trips made in 2025 was 7.5 nights, the same as in 2024.
Expenditure by foreign visitors for 2025 was estimated at €5.5 billion, down 9% compared with 2024 (€6 billion), and up 1% compared with 2023 (€5.4 billion)”.