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Some 560,500 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in May 2025, down 10% compared with May 2024, and by 2% compared with May 2023.
The average length of stay for foreign resident overnight visitors was 7.3 nights, up from an average of 7.2 nights in May 2024, and down from 7.8 nights in May 2023.
Visitors stayed a total of 4.1 million nights in the country, a drop of 8% when compared with May 2024, and down 9% when compared with May 2023.
The visitors spent €477 million on their trips (excluding fares), down 21% compared with May 2024, and no change compared with May 2023.
The largest contingent of visitors came from Great Britain (35%), followed by visitors from the United States (25%).
The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was for holiday (43%).
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 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 560,500 foreign residents completed their visits to Ireland in May 2025, a decrease of 10% compared with May 2024. These visitors spent 4.1 million nights in Ireland, a drop of 8% compared with the same month in 2024. The visitors’ average length of stay was 7.3 nights, up from an average of 7.2 nights in May 2024. The visitors spent €477.2 million on their trips, a decrease of 21% compared with May 2024. The average cost of their trips excluding fares in May 2025 was €851, whereas the average cost 12 months previously was €969.
| Inbound Tourism, May 2025 versus May 2024 | ||||
| May-24 | May-25 | Change | ||
| Visitors ('000s) | 622.3 | 560.5 | -61.8 | -9.9% |
| Nights ('000s) | 4,462.1 | 4,088.3 | -373.8 | -8.4% |
| Average length of stay (nights) | 7.2 | 7.3 | 0.1 | 1.7% |
| Expenditure - excluding fares (€million) | 602.8 | 477.2 | -125.6 | -20.8% |
| Mean expenditure - excluding fares (€) | 969 | 851 | -118 | -12.1% |
| 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 | |
| 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, 2,159,100 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, a 4.9% increase compared with May 2024. The majority of departing passengers (64.8%) 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 (4.2%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.2%), or other foreign resident same day visitors (0.9%). Some 26.0% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 560,500 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 560,500 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, the highest proportion (35.4%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 198,500 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (24.8%) was from the United States, accounting for 139,200 visitors. The third highest proportion (7.1%) came from France comprising a further 39,800 visitors. By way of comparison, in May 2024 there were 217,200 visitors from Great Britain, 125,400 from the United States, and 41,400 from France.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025 spent a total of 4,088,300 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, the Other Europe visitors (i.e. European overseas visitors excluding Great Britain) spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 1,416,700 (34.7%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was the United States & Canada making up 1,380,300 (33.8%) of the total nights. Visitors from Great Britain were third most important, accounting for a further 973,700 (23.8%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 317,700 (7.8%) of the nights. Compared with May 2024, the total visitor nights in the country fell by 8.4%. The average length of stay increased, from 7.2 nights in May 2024 to 7.3 nights in May 2025.
Among the 560,500 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, more had come for holiday than for any other reason. Some 242,600 (43.3%) had holiday as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was for visiting family and friends, with 174,000 (31.0%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 93,500 (16.7%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons. Compared with May 2024, visitors travelling for a holiday fell by 13.5%, visiting family and friends fell by 4.4%, and those visiting for business or work fell by 1.8%.
Among the 560,500 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, some 263,600 (47.0%) stayed in a hotel. Another 195,000 (34.8%) of the visitors stayed in their own property or with family and friends. A further 33,300 (5.9%) of the visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type, while 30,700 (5.5%) of the foreign visitors used rented/self-catering as their main accommodation type. By way of comparison, in May 2024 some 311,900 visitors stayed in a hotel, 204,700 stayed in their own property or with family and friends, 35,300 used guest house/bed & breakfast types and 28,400 stayed in rented/self-catering accommodation.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025 spent a total of €477.2 million, excluding fares, on their trips (a decrease of 20.8% compared with May 2024).
The total amount spent by foreign visitors (including fares) was €664.5 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 €231.4 million (34.8% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €224.0 million (33.7% of the total). Fares cost a further €187.4 million (28.2% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €21.7 million (3.3% of the total).
Overall, in May 2025 the typical foreign visitor spent €1,186 (€851 excluding fares) on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €334 on their fare, €39 on prepayments, €400 on accommodation, and €413 on day-to-day expenses. In May 2024, the comparable mean expenditure on these items was €334, €51, €437, and €480 respectively.
| 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 | |
| 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 June 2025) published Inbound Tourism May 2025.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said:
“The results show that 560,500 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, down 10% compared with May 2024 and by 2% compared with May 2023.
In May 2025, the greatest number of visitors came from Great Britain (35%), followed by Continental Europe (31%), North America (29%) and the Rest of the World (4%). However, compared with May 2024, visitors from Great Britain declined 9%, visitors from Continental Europe decreased by 21%, and visitors from the Rest of the World fell by 38%. In contrast, visitors from North America were up 11%. Compared with May 2023, visitors from Great Britain were down by 1%, Continental Europe by 22%, and the Rest of the World by 9%, whilst visitors from North America were up 33%.
The visitors' expenditure in Ireland (excluding fares) was €477 million. Visitors from Great Britian accounted for €99 million (21%) of this spend, Continental Europe for €143 million (30%), North America for €207 million (43%), and visitors from the Rest of the World for €29 million (6%). Taken together, this represented a fall of 21% compared with May 2024, and no change compared with May 2023.
The most frequent reason for the visitors journey was for holiday or leisure (43%). Their second most frequent reason was to visit friends or relatives (31%). More of the visitors stayed in a hotel (47%) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical visit lasted 7.3 nights.”