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 of these visits, an estimated 4.3 million nights were spent on 1.2 million overnight trips between June and August 2024.
More than four in ten (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). See Figure 3.1, Table 3.1.
The majority of trips were spent near the sea, with 53% of trips taken to Coastal, Transitional, and Marine ecosystems. A higher proportion of the older age groups visited the Coastal, Transitional, and Marine ecosystems, ranging from 39% of those aged 16-29 to 63% of those aged 70 and over. See Table 3.2.
The popularity of different coastal spaces varied, and sandy or rocky beaches were the most popular at 26% of trips, followed by seaside promenades (6%) and cliffs (5%). See Table 3.3.
The majority of overnight trips were taken by groups of at least two persons (90%), while 10% of trips were taken by a solo traveller. See Table 3.4.
| Ecosystem | Percent |
|---|---|
| Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands | 42 |
| Marine & Transitional Waters | 12 |
| Forests & Woodlands | 11 |
| Urban Greenspace | 10 |
| Heathlands & Shrub, Inland Wetlands, and Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems | 10 |
| Grasslands and Croplands | 6 |
| Rivers & Canals | 6 |
| Lakes & Reservoirs | 4 |
The majority of overnight trips, 88%, involved travel of more than 50 kilometres, while 12% of trips needed travel of less than 50 kilometres. See Table 3.5.
Private vehicles were the most popular mode of transport on overnight trips to spend time in nature, and were used in 93% of trips, while 9% of trips involved travel by bus or train. See Table 3.6.
For those who spent money on overnight trips, the overall 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. See Figure 3.2, Table 3.7.
The mean spend per night was higher for those visiting Terrestrial ecosystems (€213) than Coastal, Transitional and Marine ecosystems (€186). The mean spend per night overall was higher for females (€210) than males (€195). This was also true for overnight trips to visit Terrestrial ecosystems, where females spent more (€241) than males (€184). In contrast, this trend was reversed when it came to trips to Coastal, Transitional and Marine ecosystems, where females spent less (€179) than males (€195) per night. Those in the 16-29 age group spent the least overall (€166), while the highest expenditure was incurred by those in the 30-39 age group (€233). People living in urban areas had a higher mean expenditure per night (€229) than those living in rural areas (€190). See Table 3.8.
| Category | Mean spend per night |
|---|---|
| Food and drink | 59 |
| Car parking | 5 |
| Motor fuel | 25 |
| Bus, train, ferry fares | 17 |
| Gifts, souvenirs, maps or guidebooks | 16 |
| Admission fees | 22 |
| Activities and equipment rental | 34 |
| Accommodation | 151 |
| All spending | 203 |
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