Of the 582,100 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023, 35.4% of the visitors were from Great Britain, 20.2% were from the United States, and 8.0% were from Germany.
The visitors most frequent reason (47.4%) for visiting Ireland was for holiday or leisure purposes.
The visitors stayed a total of 4,649,800 nights in the country.
The total estimated expenditure of foreign visitors on their trips to Ireland was €800.1 million.
The visitors stayed on average eight nights and spent on average €1,375 on their trips.
Foreign visitors in the context of this release refers to overseas residents who have stayed at least one night in the Republic of Ireland. These overseas residents include both Irish and non-Irish nationals but specifically exclude residents of Northern Ireland.
In total, 1,910,100 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023. The majority of these (59.7%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 9.8% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (4.4%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.5%) or other foreign resident same day visitors (0.9%). Some 30.5% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 582,100 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 for sake of brevity).
Of the 582,100 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023, the highest proportion (35.4%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 205,900 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (20.2%) was from the United States, accounting for 117,400 visitors. The third highest proportion (8.0%) was from Germany comprising a further 46,800 visitors. Furthermore, 32,800 (5.6%) of the visitors came from Spain/Portugal, 28,800 (5.0%) came from France, 21,200 (3.6%) from the Benelux countries, and 18,300 (3.1%) came from Italy.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023 spent a total of 4,649,800 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other Europe visitors spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 1,594,000 (34.3%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was Great Britain, making up 1,244,200 (26.8%) of the total nights. Visitors from the USA & Canada were third most important, accounting for a further 1,112,000 (23.9%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 699,500 (15.0%) of the nights.
Among the 582,100 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023, more had come for holiday or leisure than for any other reason. Some 275,800 (47.4%) had holiday as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was to visit friends or relatives, with 184,700 (31.7%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 96,500 (16.6%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.
Among the 582,100 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023, some 269,900 (46.4%) used a hotel as their main accommodation type. Another 210,100 (36.1%) of the visitors had stayed in the main either in their own property or the property of friends or relatives. A further 46,900 (8.1%) of the visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type, while 28,200 (4.9%) of the foreign visitors used self-catering/rented properties as their main accommodation type.
Foreign visitors to Ireland who departed Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023 spent a total of €800.1 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 €284.2 million (35.5% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €282.2 million (35.3% of the total). Fares cost a further €200.1 million (25.0% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €33.6 million (4.2% of the total).
Overall, the typical foreign visitor spent €1,375 on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €344 on their fare, €58 on prepayments, €485 on accommodation, and €488 on day-to-day expenses.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 November 2023) released Inbound Tourism September 2023.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said: “The results show that among the 1,910,100 passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes in September 2023, some 582,100 (30.5%) were foreign visitors completing their trips (with the balance being Irish residents heading abroad (59.7%) and foreign same-day visitors (9.8%)). Amongst the 582,100 foreign visitors some 35.4% were from Great Britain, 20.2% were from the United States, and 8.0% were from Germany.
Typically, their visit lasted eight nights. Their most frequent reason for visiting was for holiday or leisure purposes (47.4%). More of the visitors stayed primarily in hotels (46.4%) than in any other accommodation type, and the mean cost of their visit was €1,375 (comprising €344 on fare, €58 on prepayments, €485 on accommodation, and €488 on day-to-day expenditure).”