In total, 619,900 foreign resident overnight visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023.
Some 36.8% of the visitors were from Great Britain, 23.9% were from the United States and 7.2% were from Germany.
The visitors most frequent reason (42.6%) for visiting Ireland was for holiday or leisure purposes.
The foreign resident visitors stayed a total of 4,518,200 nights in the country.
The total estimated expenditure of foreign resident overnight visitors on their trips to Ireland was €841.2 million.
The foreign resident overnight visitors stayed on average 7.3 nights and spent on average €1,357 on their trips.
On 4 October 2023 revisions were made to tables 3, 6 and 7 of this release. A category error resulted in some residencies in Other Europe group being reported under Other Residencies. Both the Other Europe and Other series were revised for April, May and June 2023. For example, it was previously reported that there were 170,600 overnight visitors from Other Europe in June 2023. The revised figure for June 2023 is 183,400 (with Other Residencies adjusted downwards in equal measure). No other results in this tourism series were affected.
In total, 2,086,300 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023. The majority of these (59.0%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 11.3% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (5.2%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.9%) or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.2%). Some 29.7% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 619,900 visitors in total. The remainder of this release focuses exclusively on the characteristics and activities of these foreign resident overnight visitors.
Of the 619,900 foreign resident overnight visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023, the highest proportion (36.8%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 227,800 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (23.9%) was from the United States, accounting for 148,200 visitors. The third highest proportion (7.2%) was from Germany comprising a further 44,900 overnight visitors. Furthermore, 28,200 (4.5%) of the visitors came from France, 24,800 (4.0%) came from the Benelux countries, 21,100 (3.4%) came from Spain/Portugal and 20,900 (3.4%) from Canada.
Foreign resident overnight visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023 spent a total of 4,518,200 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other Europe foreign residents spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 1,596,600 (35.3%) of the nights. The next most important residency group, in terms of nights spent, was USA/Canada, making up 1,383,300 (30.6%) of the total nights. Residents of Great Britain were third most important, accounting for a further 1,105,300 (24.5%) of the nights. Other residencies visitors made up 433,000 (9.6%) of the nights.
Among the 619,900 overnight foreign resident visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023, more had come for holiday or leisure than for any other reason. Some 264,400 (42.6%) had holiday as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was to visit friends or relatives, with 205,200 (33.1%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 88,400 (14.3%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.
Among the 619,900 overnight foreign resident visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023, some 286,200 (46.2%) used a hotel as their main accommodation type. Another 231,700 (37.4%) of the visitors had stayed in the main either in their own property or the property of friends or relatives. A further 34,900 (5.6%) of the visitors used self-catering/rented properties as their main accommodation type.
Foreign resident overnight visitors to Ireland who departed Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023 spent a total of €841.2 million on their trips. Residents of USA/Canada alone accounted for almost half of this expenditure (€409.1 million).
Broken down by expense category, the costliest subheading was day-to-day spending (incidental expenditures incurred during their visit such as eating out, entrance fees, public transport, etc, but excluding accommodation), amounting to €305.6 million (36.3% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €269.7 (32.1% of the total). Fares cost a further €240.2 million (28.6% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €25.8 million (3.1% of the total).
Overall, the typical overnight foreign resident visitor spent €1,357 on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €387 on their fare, €42 on prepayments, €435 on accommodation and €493 on day-to-day expenses.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 August 2023) released Inbound Tourism June 2023. This is the first release in a new monthly statistical series on inbound tourism to Ireland. It replaces the former Overseas Travel and Tourism and Travel series of the pre-COVID-19 era.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said: “This is the first release of a completely new statistical series on the tourism activity of foreign residents visiting Ireland. This new series is a significant improvement on pre-COVID-19 CSO series on inbound tourism, providing more frequent, timely and extensive information than provided previously.
This first release covers foreign resident overnight visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023. The series first shows the prevalence of overnight foreign resident visitors amongst the overseas travelling population at large in this reference month. It then shows the country of residence of the overnight foreign resident visitors, the number of nights spent by these visitors, their reason for visiting Ireland, the accommodation type they used, and their estimated expenditure, broken down into fare, prepayments, accommodation and day-to-day expense categories.
The results show that among the 2,086,300 passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes in June 2023, some 619,900 (29.7%) were foreign resident overnight visitors completing their trips (with the balance being Irish residents heading abroad (59.0%) and foreign resident same-day visitors (11.3%)). Amongst the 619,900 foreign resident overnight visitors some 36.8% were from Great Britain, 23.9% were from the United States and 7.2% were from Germany.
Typically, their visit lasted 7.3 nights. Their most frequent reason for visiting (42.6%) was for holiday or leisure purposes. More of the visitors stayed primarily in hotels (46.2%) than in any other accommodation type, and the mean cost of their visit was €1,357 (comprising €387 on fare, €42 on prepayments, €435 on accommodation and €493 on day-to-day expenditure).”