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Inbound Tourism July 2024

Foreign visitors increased by 0.8% in July 2024

Online ISSN: 2009-6747
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

  • Some 655,400 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in July 2024, an increase of 0.8% compared with July 2023.

  • The largest contingent of visitors (32.2%) came from Great Britain, followed by the United States (22.7%), and then Germany (7.5%).

  • The visitors stayed a total of 5.3 million nights in the country, a decrease of 6.2% when compared with July 2023.

  • The visitors' most frequent reason (45.7%) for travelling to Ireland was for holiday or leisure.

  • The visitors spent €919.2 million in total on their trips, up 5.0% when compared with July 2023.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (30 August 2024) released Inbound Tourism July 2024. 

Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said:

“The results show that 655,400 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024, an increase of 0.8% compared with July 2023.

Some 32.2% of the visitors were from Great Britain, 22.7% were from the United States, and 7.5% were from Germany.

Typically, their visit lasted 8.1 nights and the total spent on their trips was up 5.0% to €919.2 million in July 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023.

Their most frequent reason for their journey (45.7%) was for holiday or leisure purposes.

More of the visitors stayed in hotels (41.0%) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical cost of their visit was €1,403, which comprised €411 on fares, €48 on prepayments, €430 on accommodation, and €514 on day-to-day expenditure.”

Editor's Note

The Inbound Tourism series is a new statistical series based on an updated sampling methodology and data collection process. For more information, including an update on the implementation of the new series, see Background Notes for more details.

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.

Headline Text

Some 655,400 foreign residents completed their visits to Ireland in July 2024, an increase of 0.8% compared with July 2023. These visitors had spent 5.3 million nights in Ireland, a decrease of 6.2% compared with the same month in 2023. The visitors’ average length of stay was 8.1 nights, down 0.6 nights from July 2023. The visitors expended €919.2 million on their trips, an increase of 5.0% compared with July 2023. The average cost of their trips in July 2024 was €1,403, whereas their average cost 12 months previously was €1,346.

Inbound Tourism, July 2024 versus July 2023
 Jul-23Jul-24Change
Visitors ('000s)650.2655.45.20.8%
Nights ('000s)5,643.85,292.5-351.3-6.2%
Average length of stay (nights)8.78.1-0.6-7.0%
Expenditure (€million)875.4919.243.85.0%
Mean expenditure (€)1,3461,40356.14.2%
X-axis label20232024
Jan400451.9
Feb337433.3
Mar425.2521.8
Apr461.9549.1
May573.3622.3
Jun619.9669.5
Jul650.2655.4
Aug737.6
Sep582.1
Oct577.4
Nov447.5
Dec445.2

Departing Passenger Categories

In total, 2,243,000 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024, an increase of 3.0% compared with July 2023. The majority of departing passengers (60.8%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 10.0% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (4.5%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.3%), or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.2%). Some 29.2% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 655,400 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).

Table 1: Passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes by category

Figure 2: Passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes by category, July 2024

Detailed Residency

Of the 655,400 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024, the highest proportion (32.2%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 211,300 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (22.7%) was from the United States, accounting for 148,900 visitors. The third highest proportion (7.5%) came from Germany comprising a further 49,400 visitors. By way of comparison, in July 2023 there were 240,800 visitors were from Great Britain, 141,300 from the United States, and 44,800 from Germany.

Table 2: Foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by detailed residency

Figure 3: Foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by detailed residency, July 2024

Nights in Ireland

Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024 spent a total of 5,292,500 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other Europe visitors spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 2,000,800 (37.8%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was the United States and Canada, making up 1,502,800 (28.4%) of the total nights. Visitors from Great Britain were third most important, accounting for a further 1,031,200 (19.5%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 757,700 (14.3%) of the nights. Compared with July 2023, the total visitor nights in the country decreased by 6.2%. The average length of stay also decreased, from 8.7 nights in July 2023 to 8.1 nights in July 2024.

Table 3: Number of bednights spent in Ireland by foreign resident visitors by area of residence

Figure 4: Nights spent by foreign resident visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by residency, July 2023 and July 2024
Table 4: Average length of stay in Ireland of overnight foreign resident visitors by area of residence

Reason for Visit

Among the 655,400 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024, more had come to holiday than for any other reason. Some 299,500 (45.7%) had holiday or leisure as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was to visit family or friends, with 197,500 (30.1%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 86,000 (13.1%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons. This differed from July 2023 when 45.0% had come for holidays, 34.9% to visit family or friends, and 11.0% for business or work.

Table 5: Overnight foreign resident visitors by reason for visit

Figure 5: Foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by main reason for visit, July 2024

Accommodation

Among the 655,400 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024, some 268,800 (41.0%) stayed in a hotel. Another 237,600 (36.3%) of the visitors had used family/friend or their own property as their main accommodation type. A further 40,900 (6.2%) of the visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type, while 37,300 (5.7%) of the foreign visitors used rented/self-catering as their main accommodation type. By way of comparison, in July 2023 some 276,300 visitors stayed in a hotel, 260,400 stayed in their own property or the property of family or friends and 41,200 stayed in rented/self-catering accommodation types.

Table 6: Overnight foreign resident visitors by main accommodation type

Figure 6: Foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by main accommodation type, July 2023 and July 2024

Expenditure

Foreign visitors to Ireland who departed Ireland on overseas routes in July 2024 spent a total of €919.2 million on their trips (an increase of 5.0% compared with July 2023).

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 €336.9 million (36.7% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €281.5 million (30.6% of the total). Fares cost a further €269.3 million (29.3% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €31.5 million (3.4% of the total).

Overall, in July 2024 the typical foreign visitor spent €1,403 on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €411 on their fare, €48 on prepayments, €430 on accommodation, and €514 on day-to-day expenses. In July 2023 the comparable mean expenditure on these items was €391, €42, €418, and €495 respectively.

Table 7A: Expenditure of overnight foreign resident visitors by expense category

Table 7B: Mean expenditure of overnight foreign resident visitors by expense category

Figure 7: Expenditure of foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes by expense category, July 2024

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