For 40% of people, their most recent same-day visit to nature was to an Urban Greenspace in Summer 2024, while 17% of people visited Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands, and 12% visited Forests & Woodlands.
Half of urban dwellers visited an Urban Greenspace on their most recent same-day visit to spend time in nature, compared with 23% of those living in rural areas. A higher proportion of people living in rural areas visited Grasslands and Croplands (19%) and Forests & Woodlands (17%) than people living in urban areas (4% and 10% respectively).
In Summer 2024, most people stayed close to home on their most recent same-day visit to spend time in nature; around 26% travelled one kilometre or less, while 41% travelled between one and ten kilometres. Nearly three in ten (29%) travelled over ten kilometres.
Overall, 33% of people had no expenditure on their most recent same day visit to nature, while 67% spent money. Of those who spent money, the mean spend per visit for all ecosystems was €38.
Focusing on respondents' most recent overnight trip where one of the main purposes was to spend time in nature, an estimated 1.2 million overnight trips, totalling 4.3 million nights, were taken between June and August 2024. Around 44% of these nights were allocated to Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands (around 1.9 million nights), 19% to Marine & Transitional Waters (0.8 million nights), and 9% to Forests & Woodlands (0.4 million nights).
The majority of overnight trips to spend time in nature, at 88%, involved travel of more than 50 kilometres, while 12% of trips needed travel of less than 50 kilometres.
For those who spent money on overnight trips, the overall mean spend per trip was €569, with a mean spend per night of €203.
The release Recreation in Nature – Visits to Ecosystems 2024 is based on a CSO survey carried out in 2024, focusing on activities undertaken in June, July, and August 2024.
For more information on the survey design and methodology, please see Background Notes.
This is the second of two releases exploring the results of this survey, the first release Recreation in Nature - How We Spent Summer 2024 was published in June 2025.
The CSO would like to thank everyone who took part in this survey. Completing CSO Surveys is really important because it means we are getting our facts straight from you and you know they are accurate, Because You Told Us.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (21 August 2025) published Recreation in Nature - Visits to Ecosystems 2024. This release is the second of two exploring the results of a CSO survey of 3,916 people, focusing on how they spent time in nature during June, July, and August 2024. The first release, Recreation in Nature - How We Spent Summer 2024, was published in June 2025. These findings will contribute to the development of Ecosystem Accounts which look at the benefits nature provides to the economy and society, as well as informing related national policy initiatives.
Commenting on the release, Nova Sharkey, Statistician in the Ecosystem Accounts Section, said: "This release presents the results of a survey aimed at getting a better understanding of how people in Ireland enjoy our natural environment. Focusing on June to August 2024, we asked people about their most recent same-day visits and overnight trips to green and natural spaces, or ecosystems. We asked people what type of ecosystem they visited, how they travelled there, and how much they spent while they were there.
Same-Day Visits
When looking at peoples' most recent same-day visits to nature, Urban Greenspaces were by far the most popular ecosystem, with 40% of people reporting that their most recent visit to nature was to an Urban Greenspace, while 17% of people visited Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands, and 12% visited Forests & Woodlands. Urban Greenspaces were most popular with those aged 16-29 (48%) while less than a third (30%) of those aged 60-69 and aged 70 and over visited these ecosystems.
There were clear regional differences when it came to ecosystems visited on same-day visits; people living in the Eastern and Midland region were most likely to have spent their most recent same-day visit to nature in an Urban Greenspace, at 49%, while 27% of those living in the Northern and Western region did. Only 5% of people living in the Eastern and Midland region visited Grasslands and Croplands on their most recent visit, compared with 16% of people living in the Northern and Western region. Almost one in five (19%) of those living in the Southern region visited Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands on their most recent visit, compared with 14% of those in the Eastern and Midland region. See Background Notes for more information on the NUTS regions used here.
Most people stayed close to home on their most recent same-day visit to spend time in nature; around 26% travelled one kilometre or less, while 41% travelled between one and ten kilometres. Nearly three in ten (29%) travelled over ten kilometres.
Some 30% of visits to Urban Greenspaces involved travel of one kilometre or less, with 46% between one and ten kilometres. Half of visits to Grasslands and Croplands involved travel of one kilometre or less, with 31% between one and ten kilometres. Looking at visits to Rivers & Canals, 35% of visits involved travel of one kilometre or less, with 49% between one and ten kilometres. People travelled furthest to visit Heathlands & Shrub, Inland Wetlands, and Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems (60% of visits involved travel of more than ten kilometres) and Marine & Transitional Waters (54% of visits involved travel of more than 10 kilometres).
People tended to spend money when they spent time in ecosystems on a same-day visit. Overall, 67% of people reported spending money on their most recent same-day visit to nature. Expenditure was most likely for those visiting Marine & Transitional Waters (79%), Forests & Woodlands (78%), and Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands (76%). People were least likely to spend money on their visits to Grasslands and Croplands (52%) and Rivers & Canals (45%).
For those who spent money on their most recent same-day visit to an ecosystem, the mean spend per visit for all ecosystems was €38. The highest mean spend for an ecosystem was for visits to Marine & Transitional Waters, at €59, while visits to Lakes & Reservoirs had the lowest mean spend, at €26.
Overnight Trips
Around 6.1 million nights spent away from home in Ireland in Summer 2024 could be attributed to trips where one of the main purposes was to spend time or do activities in nature (see previous release Recreation in Nature - How We Spent Summer 2024). Looking just at the most recent overnight trip where one of the main purposes was to spend time in nature, an estimated 1.2 million overnight trips were taken, totalling 4.3 million nights.
Around 44% of these nights were allocated to Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands (around 1.9 million nights), 19% to Marine & Transitional Waters (0.8 million nights), and 9% to Forests & Woodlands (0.4 million nights).
Compared with same-day visits, people travelled further when taking overnight trips. The majority of overnight trips, 88%, involved travel of more than 50 kilometres, while 12% of destinations were within 50 kilometres.
Overall, for those who spent money on overnight trips, the mean spend per trip was €569, with a mean spend per night of €203. Accommodation was the category of expenditure with the highest mean spend per trip (€442) and per night (€151). The next highest category was Food & Drink, with a mean spend per trip of €163 and a mean spend per night of €59.
Days of Physical Activity per Week
This survey also asked on how many days in the preceding week did respondents get at least 30 minutes of physical activity. A quarter of people (25%) reported that they were physically active for at least 30 minutes every day in the seven days leading up to the survey, while 8% said they had no days with 30 minutes of activity."