Ireland outbound trips in August were down 3.3pc on August 20-25 and up 41pc on pre-pandemic. Rolling annual was 14,184,600, up 4pc on the twelve months to the end of August 2025. The inbound/outbound proportion of overall journeys was 44/56.
The total for the first six months of 2026 was 6,827,900, down slightly 0.1pc on June 2025 but up 66.3pc on pre-pandemic. About 47pc of the total outbound trips in the year are in the first six month period.
The latest figure follows a decline of 0.6pc in July, a rise of 0.1pc in June, a drop of 3.8pc in May, 5.8pc in April and increases of 9.5pc in March, a decrease of 3.9pc in February and an increase of 6.7pc in January.
Change in CSO methodology
There was a significant change CSO methodology in 2023 which presents difficulties in comparing pre-pandemic figures. It now relies on a single passenger survey with stricter sampling rules. The new survey is also conducted by an interviewer rather than filled out by the passengers themselves. The change had the effect of almost exactly reversing the ratio of inbound & outbound passengers through the airports and ports, 60/40 outbound instead of 60/40 inbound.
CSO tourism stats for Ireland
Overall – Australia/NZ – Benelux – Britain – Canada – Europe – France – Germany – Italy – North Anerica – Scandinavia – Spain/Portugal – USA – Outbound –
