Of the 447,500 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023, 40.8% of the visitors were from Great Britain, 16.8% were from the United States, and 6.6% were from Germany.
The visitors' most frequent reason (39.6%) for visiting Ireland was for holiday or leisure purposes.
The visitors stayed a total of 3,082,300 nights in the country.
The total estimated expenditure of foreign visitors on their trips to Ireland was €441.1 million.
The visitors stayed on average 6.9 nights and spent on average €986 on their trips.
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.
In total, 1,361,500 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023. The majority of these (57.9%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 9.3% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (4.0%), foreign resident transfer passengers (3.7%) or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.6%). Some 32.9% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 447,500 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 for the sake of brevity).
Of the 447,500 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023, the highest proportion (40.8%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 182,800 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (16.8%) was from the United States, accounting for 75,100 visitors. The third highest proportion (6.6%) was from Germany comprising a further 29,600 visitors. Furthermore, 26,400 (5.9%) of the visitors came from Spain/Portugal, 22,200 (5.0%) came from France, 21,400 (4.8%) from the Benelux countries, and 14,600 (3.3%) came from Italy.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023 spent a total of 3,082,300 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other Europe visitors spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 1,156,800 (37.5%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was Great Britain, making up 746,400 (24.2%) of the total nights. Visitors from the United States were third most important, accounting for a further 700,200 (22.7%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 478,800 (15.5%) of the nights.
Among the 447,500 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023, more had come for holiday or leisure than for any other reason. Some 177,000 (39.6%) had holiday as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was to visit friends or relatives, with 163,400 (36.5%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 84,700 (18.9%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.
Among the 447,500 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023, some 208,200 (46.5%) used a hotel as their main accommodation type. Another 182,400 (40.8%) of the visitors had stayed in the main either in their own property or the property of friends or relatives. A further 17,400 (3.9%) of the visitors used self-catering/rented properties as their main accommodation type, while 16,500 (3.7%) of the foreign visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type.
Foreign visitors to Ireland who departed Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023 spent a total of €441.1 million on their trips.
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 €181.8 million (41.2% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €139.7 million (31.7% of the total). Fares cost a further €107.3 million (24.3% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €12.3 million (2.8% of the total).
Overall, the typical foreign visitor spent €986 on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €240 on their fare, €27 on prepayments, €312 on accommodation, and €406 on day-to-day expenses.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 December 2023) released Inbound Tourism November 2023.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said: “The results show that among the 1,361,500 passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes in November 2023, some 447,500 (32.9%) were foreign visitors completing their trips (with the balance being Irish residents heading abroad (57.9%) and foreign same-day visitors (9.3%)). Amongst the 447,500 foreign visitors, some 40.8% were from Great Britain, 16.8% were from the United States, and 6.6% were from Germany.
Typically, their visit lasted 6.9 nights. Their most frequent reason for visiting was for holiday or leisure purposes (39.6%). More of the visitors stayed primarily in hotels (46.5%) than in any other accommodation type, and the mean cost of their visit was €986 (comprising €240 on fare, €27 on prepayments, €312 on accommodation, and €406 on day-to-day expenditure).”