In September 2024, Ireland hosted approximately 578,100 foreign visitors, marking a slight decrease of 0.7pc compared to the same month in 2023, with the largest groups coming from England (32.3pc), the United States (24.5pc), and Germany (8.3pc).
Visitors accounted for a total of 4.5m nights spent in Ireland, which represents a decline of 3.2pc compared to September 2023, with an average length of stay of 7.8 nights, down from 8.0 nights.
The primary purpose of travel for 47.4pc of these visitors was holiday or leisure. Accommodation preferences leaned towards hotels, which were utilized by 47.7pc of visitors.
Despite the decrease in visitor numbers, total spending increased by 14.4pc to €915.6m, with average trip costs around €1,584, including expenses on accommodation, daily costs, and travel fares.
Commenting on the figures Alice Mansergh, CEO of Tourism Ireland, shared: “Today’s figures from the CSO indicate that revenue from overseas tourism increased by +13pc in September 2024, when compared to September of last year. Overseas visitors are down slightly (-1pc) for the month and nights are also down (-3pc). September was a particularly strong month for tourism from North America, with revenue up +34pc, visitors up +19pc and nights up +30pc. It was a softer month for tourism from Great Britain, with revenue down -4pc and visitors down -9pc. While visitors from Mainland Europe were down -5pc, revenue grew by +7pc.
“While monthly figures can move around, it’s illustrative to look at year-to-date data. The CSO figures indicate that Ireland hosted 5.2m overseas tourists for the period January-September 2024 (+10pc over the same period in 2023), generating €4.85bn for the economy (+16pc). It is positive to see that both overseas visitor numbers and spend have increased compared to last year. However, visitors are spending on average seven days this year compared to eight days last year. That, combined with the increased costs of doing business for those working in the tourism industry, are current concerns.
“Last year, overseas tourism delivered €6.4bn in revenue to the island of Ireland and we will exceed that figure this year. We know that the main motivators for people choosing Ireland for a holiday are our spectacular scenery, rich heritage and friendly people. At Tourism Ireland, we are focused on generating demand and targeting visitors that do more, see more, enjoy more – and therefore spend more – during their time here, to help tourism businesses across the island to thrive. We are excited to roll out a strong programme of activity through to end of year – which includes our ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign under way right now, a strong presence at World Travel Market with global tour operators next week, collaboration with air and sea carriers to support demand for key routes, as well as digital and publicity promotions across 14 markets.”
