Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) released its Inbound Tourism 2023 report on Wednesday, June 19.
“This is the first annual publication of the CSO’s new Inbound Tourism series, which measures the numbers of non-Irish residents who depart the country via our airports and seaports,” Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the CSO's Tourism and Travel Division, said on Wednesday.
“The results show that 6.3 million foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in 2023.”
The majority of Ireland's foreign visitors in 2023 were from Great Britain, followed by the US, and then Germany.
There were 6.3 million foreign visitors to Ireland in 2023https://t.co/CSvplsJv5Z#CSOIreland #Ireland #Tourism #Travel #Holidays #LoveIreland #OverseasTravel #AirAndSeaTravel #Aviation #InboundTourism #HouseholdTravel #TravelSurvey pic.twitter.com/43g7Qpp1hr
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) June 19, 2024
Residencies of Ireland's foreign visitors in 2023
According to the CSO, of the 6.3 million foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in 2023, the highest proportion (37.9%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 2.4 million of the visitors in total.
Residents of Great Britain spent 12.4 million nights in Ireland in 2023 in total, giving an average length of stay of 5.2 days.
These British visitors spent €1.5 billion in total on their trips, an average of €631 per person.
The second highest proportion of foreign visitors (18.3%) was from the US, accounting for 1.1 million visitors.
The US visitors spent a total of 9.6 million nights in Ireland, an average length of stay of 8.4 days.
US visitors spent a total of €2.4 billion on their trips (more than any other residency). The average US visitor spent €2,142 on their trip.
The third highest proportion (7.1%) of foreign visitors came from Germany. There were 446,400 German visitors in total.
The visitors from Germany spent 3.8 million nights in Ireland in total, staying on average 8.5 days.
In total the German visitors spent €0.5 billion on their trips, working out as an average of €1,129 per German visitor.
Rounding out the top five were France (383,700 visitors) and Spain (274,700 visitors).
Reasons for visiting Ireland in 2023
More foreign visitors (2.5 million) came to Ireland for holiday, leisure, or recreation than for any other reason in 2023.
These holidaymakers stayed on average 6.8 nights (spending 17.2 million nights in total in the country) and spent on average €1,438 on their trips (€3.6 billion in total).
More holidaymakers came from Other Europe (934,600) than from any other area of residence.
However, holidaymakers from the US and Canada had the highest expenditure - €1.9 billion in total, or an average of €2,223 per trip.
The second most frequent reason for traveling to Ireland was to visit family or friends, with 2.3 million visitors coming for this purpose.
These visitors typically stayed longer than the holidaymakers (with an average length of stay of 8.2 nights) and spent 18.9 million nights in the country in total.
They also spent typically less than the holidaymakers, paying on average €721 on their trips (€1.7 billion in total). Almost half of those visiting family or friends (1.1 million) were residents of Great Britain.
A total of 918,600 foreign visitors had come for business or work purposes. These business visitors typically had the shortest trips (6.3 nights on average) and stayed a total of 5.8 million nights.
They spent €1,161 on their trips on average, or €1.1 billion in total.
Almost half of the business visitors (446,100) were residents of Great Britain.
Accommodation for foreign visitors in Ireland in 2023
Hotels proved the most popular form of accommodation for Ireland's foreign visitors in 2023, with 42.4% of all visitors staying primarily in this accommodation type. These visitors stayed 12.6 million nights in hotels in total (an average of 4.7 nights per trip).
The visitors staying in hotels also had the highest expenditure in total (€3.7 billion), paying on average €1,395 for their trips.
Staying with family or friends was also very popular, with 42.1% of visitors availing of this option.
More of the hotel visitors were from Great Britain (889,100) than from any other area of residence. However, these British residents had relatively short trips, staying just 3.1 nights in the hotel on average.
In contrast, residents of the US and Canada typically stayed 6.7 nights on average and spent more nights in hotels in total (5.4 million nights) than any other area of residence.
Expenditure of foreign visitors in Ireland in 2023
Overall, Ireland's foreign visitors spent €7.3 billion on their trips.
Of this, €1.9 billion was spent on fares, €0.3 billion on prepayments (e.g. car hire, pre-booked tickets, and other non-accommodation items paid for in advance), €2.3 billion on accommodation, and €2.8 billion on day-to-day spending.
The typical foreign visitor to Ireland last year spent €302 on their fare, €40 on prepayments, €375 on accommodation, and €454 on day-to-day expenditure.
Northern Ireland
The CSO additionally found that some 446,200 (7.1%) of the visitors to Ireland also visited Northern Ireland in 2023
The majority of these (77.8%) visited Northern Ireland for holiday or leisure.
On average, they stayed 2.2 nights in Northern Ireland and spent €237 whilst there.
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