Six Takeaways from yesterday’s CSO figures:
- How accurate are the figures? Is inbound understated and out bound overstated? The outbound travel stats from September show a whopping 56.9pc increase on pre pandemic figures in 2019. Direct bookings and the arrival of big international online OTA Love Holidays and Onthebeach in the holiday market has reduced visibility of outbound bookings but the figure seems improbable, about double the increase recorded by government statistical bodies in big markets like Spain and England. Previously inbound may have been overstated. The ratio in September was 32/58 compared with 55/45 in September 2019 and 57/43 in September 2017.
- What a difference a day makes. Stays have gotten shorter by a full day in two years. The average length of stay for overnight visitors falls to 7.1 nights in September from 7.8 nights in September 2024 and 8 nights in September 2023.
- France is dying. Visitors from France were down 35.7pc on last year and down 35.9c on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 344,700, down48.9pc on last year. The trend is across the continent, Europe was down 7.8pc on last year and down 50.6pc on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 2,342,700, down marginally from 2,392,900.
- Auf wiedersen. Germany has been overtaken by Spain. Germany used to be the third most important market and an old reliable for Irish tourism. In common with other European markets, German visitor numbers have not recovered and aviation is still not back to pre-pandemic levels. Visitors from Germany were down 11pc on last year and down 49.8pc on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 432,400, down 7.3pc on last year. The rise of Spain has been remarkable. Visitors from Spain were up 20.9pc on last year and down 35.9pc on pre-pandemic, Rolling annual was 454,800, down 14.1pc on last year.
- Will uncle Sam continue to rescue us? We are over dependent on the USA. The message from the ITIC and AVEA conferences is that Irish inbound tourism is too dependent on the USA, which saved our last three summers. This makes us vulnerable to a shock caused by geopoliticis or, more likely, the stock exchange. Visitors from North America are up 10.3pc on last year and down 28.7pc on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 1.512,000, up 0.7pc on last year. USA was up 5.5pc on last year and down pc on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 1,280,800, up 1.8pc on last year. Canada was up by a remarkable 16.2pc on last year and down 17.2pc on pre-pandemic, rolling annual was 207,900, up 6.6pc on last year
- Is Ireland getting cheaper for tourists? Spend is down. Is this because prices have dropped? Twitter/X will have the answers. Visitors spend over €570m on trips excluding fares in September, a decrease of 16pc from September 2024.
