Inbound Tourism Annual 2023

Departing Passenger Categories

In total, 20.6 million passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in 2023. The great majority of the passengers (94.4%) departed by air with the balance (5.6%) departing by sea. Approximately half (50.8%) of the passengers departed on continental routes (i.e., Europe, excluding the UK and Ireland), over one third (35.0%) departed on cross-channel routes (i.e., to Great Britain) and the balance (14.2%) departed on transatlantic and other routes.

The departing passengers comprised a mix of Irish residents (outbound tourists) commencing their trips abroad and foreign residents (inbound tourists) finishing their trips to Ireland. The majority (59.3%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 10.4% were foreign resident same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading overseas via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (4.9%), transfer passengers (4.4%), or other same day visitors (1.1%). The remaining 30.3% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 6.3 million visitors in total in 2023. The rest of this release focuses exclusively on the characteristics of these foreign resident overnight visitors (referred to simply as foreign visitors).

Detailed Residency

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 the country 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 United States (US), accounting for 1.1 million visitors. The US visitors spent a total of 9.6 million nights in the country, 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. They spent 3.8 million nights in the country 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.

Reason for Visit

Table 3 shows the number of foreign visitors departing Ireland in 2023 by their area of residence and main reason for their journey. More foreign visitors (2.5 million) had come to Ireland for Holiday, leisure or recreation than for any other reason. 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 USA & Canada had the highest expenditure (€1.9 billion in total, or an average of €2,223 per trip).

The second most frequent reason for travelling 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

Table 4 presents the foreign visitors departing Ireland in 2023 by area of residence and the main accommodation type used. Overall, more of the visitors stayed in hotels (2.7 million) than in any other 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. 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 USA & 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.

Table 5 shows the particulars of foreign resident visitors who departed Ireland in 2023 classified by reason for journey and main accommodation type. This table shows, for example, that of the 2.5 million visitors who came to Ireland for holiday or leisure purposes, 1.5 million (60.5%) stayed in hotels. Of the 2.3 million visitors who came to Ireland to see family or friends, 2.0 million (88.2%) stayed either with those family or friends or in their own properties.

Expenditure

Tables 6A and 6B show the total expenditure and mean expenditure respectively of foreign resident visitors who departed Ireland in 2023, broken down by area of residence and expense category. These tables show that out of an overall expenditure of €7.3 billion, €1.9 billion (25.8%) was spent on fares, €0.3 billion (3.4%) on pre-payments (i.e., items paid for in Ireland in advance of the trip, excluding accommodation), €2.3 billion (32.0%) on accommodation, and €2.8 billion (38.8%) on day-to-day spending. This produces an average trip expenditure of €1,171 comprising €302 on fares, €40 on prepayments, €375 on accommodation, and €454 on day-to-day spending. On average, residents of USA & Canada spent the most on fares (€720), accommodation (€701), and day-to-day spending (€619), whilst Other residencies spent the most on pre-payments (€118). Looked at from the perspective of reason for journey, those visiting for holiday or leisure purposes typically had the most expensive fares (€377), whilst those visiting for Other purposes typically spent the most on prepayments (€108), accommodation (€746), and day-to-day expenses (€765).

Table 7 shows the mean nightly accommodation costs of the foreign visitors who departed Ireland in 2023, broken down by area of residence and accommodation type. The mean nightly accommodation cost overall was €88, however the cost varied considerably by accommodation type, ranging from €130 per night for hotels to €41 per night for other accommodation types (which includes caravan and camping, hostels and student accommodation). There was also some variation in the costs depending on the area of residence of the visitors, with residents of Great Britain, typically paying the lowest nightly hotel costs (€119), whilst Other residencies typically paid the highest nightly hotel costs (€141). 

Table 8 shows the mean daily day-to-day expenditure of the foreign visitors, classified by area of residence and reason for journey. On average the foreign visitors spent €72 per day on incidental expenses. Again, this daily rate varied by area of residency and reason for travel, with residents of USA & Canada travelling for business reasons typically spending the most per day (€91) whilst residents of Other Europe visiting family or friends typically spending the least per day (€51).

Northern Ireland

Table 9 shows the number of foreign visitors departing Ireland in 2023, broken down by area of residence and reason for journey, who included a visit to Northern Ireland as part of their trip. In total, 446,200 visitors also visited Northern Ireland (representing 7.1% of all foreign visitors to Ireland). More residents of USA & Canada (174,100) visited Northern Ireland than any other area of residence. The majority of those who visited Northern Ireland (285,900) had come to Ireland for holiday or leisure purposes.

Table 10 shows the number of foreign visitors who also visited Northern Ireland, the number of nights they spent in Northern Ireland, their average length of stay in Northern Ireland, their total expenditure in Northern Ireland and their mean expenditure in Northern Ireland, broken down by their reason for visiting Northern Ireland. In total the visitors spent 997,900 nights in Northern Ireland and their average length of stay was 2.2 nights. The visitors’ expenditure in Northern Ireland was €105 million or €237 per visitor on average. Most of the visitors (346,900) visited Northern Ireland for holiday or leisure purposes.