This chapter presents information on the tourism sector of the Irish economy. The tourism and travel information covers earnings and expenditure from tourism and travel as well as detailing the number of trips to Ireland classified by area of residence and reason for journey. Details of foreign and domestic travel by Irish residents classified by region visited and reason for journey are also included.
| Table 22.1 Overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents - number of trips, average length of stay and expenditure by area of residence, 2014 - 2019 | ||||||||
| '000 | ||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |||
| Total overseas trips to Ireland | 7,604 | 8,643 | 9,584 | 9,932 | 10,616 | 10,808 | ||
| Great Britain | 3,164 | 3,547 | 3,924 | 3,729 | 3,759 | 3,788 | ||
| France | 456 | 505 | 531 | 549 | 565 | 577 | ||
| Germany | 557 | 629 | 652 | 681 | 818 | 812 | ||
| Italy | 258 | 321 | 344 | 363 | 409 | 392 | ||
| Other Europe | 1,368 | 1,588 | 1,774 | 1,888 | 2,021 | 2,129 | ||
| USA & Canada | 1,329 | 1,514 | 1,808 | 2,101 | 2,384 | 2,413 | ||
| Australia & New Zealand | 190 | 207 | 204 | 208 | 229 | 225 | ||
| All other areas | 284 | 331 | 346 | 411 | 432 | 473 | ||
| Nights | ||||||||
| Average length of stay in Ireland | 7.2 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | ||
| Great Britain | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.1 | ||
| France | 8.8 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 9.0 | ||
| Germany | 9.5 | 9.5 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 7.4 | ||
| Italy | 9.5 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 7.9 | ||
| Other Europe | 9.0 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.5 | ||
| USA & Canada | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.4 | ||
| Australia & New Zealand | 12.5 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 11.6 | ||
| All other areas | 14.8 | 15.1 | 15.6 | 15.5 | 14.4 | 13.5 | ||
| €million | ||||||||
| Total expenditure in Ireland (excluding fares) | 3,548 | 4,208 | 4,577 | 4,874 | 5,149 | 5,101 | ||
| Great Britain | 885 | 971 | 1,061 | 1,007 | 981 | 977 | ||
| France | 202 | 236 | 274 | 295 | 291 | 268 | ||
| Germany | 334 | 397 | 388 | 399 | 467 | 446 | ||
| Italy | 132 | 153 | 175 | 190 | 198 | 178 | ||
| Other Europe | 639 | 771 | 821 | 883 | 890 | 959 | ||
| USA & Canada | 935 | 1,197 | 1,335 | 1,523 | 1,735 | 1,691 | ||
| Australia & New Zealand | 177 | 200 | 204 | 207 | 218 | 206 | ||
| All other areas | 244 | 283 | 319 | 370 | 369 | 377 | ||
| Source: CSO | ||||||||
In 2019, 10.8 million overseas trips were made by non-residents to Ireland compared to 10.6 million trips in 2018, an increase of 1.8%. Trips by residents of USA and Canada to Ireland increased by 1.2% to over 2.4 million trips between 2018 and 2019. The average length of stay in Ireland by all overseas travellers decreased to 6.5 nights in 2019 compared to 6.7 in 2018. The most important overseas markets in terms of non-fare expenditure within Ireland in 2019 were USA and Canada (33.2%) and Great Britain (19.1%).
Interactive table: StatBank TMA09
Link to releases: Tourism and Travel Quarterly and Overseas Travel Monthly
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Great Britain | 3164000 | 3547000 | 3924000 | 3729000 | 3759000 | 3788000 |
| France, Germany, Italy | 1271000 | 1455000 | 1527000 | 1593000 | 1792000 | 1782000 |
| Other Europe | 1368000 | 1588000 | 1774000 | 1888000 | 2021000 | 2129000 |
| USA & Canada | 1329000 | 1514000 | 1808000 | 2101000 | 2384000 | 2413000 |
| Other Areas | 474000 | 538000 | 550000 | 619000 | 660000 | 697000 |
| Table 22.2 Overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents - number of trips, average length of stay and expenditure by reason for journey, 2014 - 2019 | ||||||
| '000 | ||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Total overseas trips to Ireland | 7,604 | 8,643 | 9,584 | 9,932 | 10,616 | 10,808 |
| Business | 1,282 | 1,441 | 1,539 | 1,478 | 1,432 | 1,485 |
| Visit to friends/relatives | 2,209 | 2,297 | 2,553 | 2,566 | 2,655 | 2,667 |
| Holiday/leisure/recreation | 3,324 | 4,001 | 4,388 | 4,710 | 5,235 | 5,216 |
| Other | 789 | 904 | 1,105 | 1,178 | 1,294 | 1,440 |
| Nights | ||||||
| Average length of stay in Ireland | 7.2 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 |
| Business | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.9 |
| Visit to friends/relatives | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Holiday/leisure/recreation | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.1 |
| Other | 12.1 | 11.9 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 8.1 | 7.4 |
| €million | ||||||
| Total expenditure in Ireland (excluding fares) | 3,548 | 4,208 | 4,577 | 4,874 | 5,149 | 5,101 |
| Business | 587 | 675 | 724 | 766 | 744 | 721 |
| Visit to friends/relatives | 784 | 803 | 864 | 895 | 881 | 907 |
| Holiday/leisure/recreation | 1,823 | 2,330 | 2,547 | 2,758 | 3,105 | 3,074 |
| Other | 353 | 400 | 443 | 456 | 419 | 398 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
The number of overseas trips to Ireland, for the purpose of business, increased by 53,000 trips to just under 1.5 million trips between 2018 and 2019, a rise of 3.7%. However, over the same period, the number of holiday/leisure/recreation trips to Ireland dropped by 19,000 trips to just over 5.2 million trips.
Excluding fares, expenditure by overseas travellers decreased by 0.9% in 2019, from €5,149 million in 2018 to €5,101 million. Of this €5,101 million, 60.3% was spent by overseas travellers for holiday/leisure/recreation purposes, 17.8% by those travelling to visit friends and relatives, 14.1% by business travellers and the remaining 7.8% by those travelling for ‘Other’ reasons.
Interactive table: StatBank TMA08
Link to releases: Tourism and Travel Quarterly and Overseas Travel Monthly
| Table 22.3 Outbound travel (overnight trips) by Irish residents - number of trips, number of nights, average length of stay and expenditure by region visited, 2014 - 2019 | ||||||
| '000 | ||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Total outbound - trips | 6,677 | 7,094 | 7,644 | 8,171 | 8,643 | 9,350 |
| EU | 5,735 | 6,161 | 6,597 | 7,116 | 7,443 | 8,065 |
| Other Europe | 142 | 181 | 142 | 151 | 193 | 208 |
| USA and Canada | 453 | 422 | 492 | 558 | 546 | 584 |
| Central, South & Other Americas | 32 | 40 | 55 | 30 | 79 | 63 |
| Asia | 173 | 165 | 222 | 221 | 256 | 301 |
| Africa | 87 | 80 | 66 | 63 | 65 | 57 |
| Australia, New Zealand & Oceania | 56 | 44 | 71 | 32 | 62 | 73 |
| Total outbound - nights | 53,652 | 53,515 | 56,748 | 57,698 | 60,623 | 66,927 |
| EU | 40,237 | 40,564 | 42,416 | 44,048 | 44,319 | 49,886 |
| Other Europe | 1,460 | 1,263 | 989 | 1,075 | 1,618 | 1,344 |
| USA and Canada | 6,295 | 5,877 | 6,334 | 6,929 | 6,347 | 7,952 |
| Central, South & Other Americas | 526 | 629 | 869 | 462 | 1,234 | 830 |
| Asia | 2,492 | 2,811 | 3,311 | 3,435 | 4,150 | 4,323 |
| Africa | 1,386 | 1,244 | 1,278 | 926 | 875 | 1,077 |
| Australia, New Zealand & Oceania | 1,256 | 1,127 | 1,550 | 822 | 2,079 | 1,514 |
| Nights | ||||||
| Average length of stay | 8.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.2 |
| EU | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 6.2 |
| Other Europe | 10.3 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 6.5 |
| USA and Canada | 13.9 | 13.9 | 12.9 | 12.4 | 11.6 | 13.6 |
| Central, South & Other Americas | 16.5 | 15.8 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 15.7 | 13.2 |
| Asia | 14.4 | 17.0 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 16.2 | 14.4 |
| Africa | 16.0 | 15.5 | 19.4 | 14.6 | 13.5 | 18.8 |
| Australia, New Zealand & Oceania | 22.6 | 25.7 | 22.0 | 25.7 | 33.3 | 20.8 |
| €million | ||||||
| Total outbound - expenditure | 5,590.2 | 6,022.1 | 6,539.0 | 6,890.7 | 7,434.6 | 8,252.6 |
| EU | 3,831.3 | 4,185.9 | 4,438.2 | 4,830.9 | 4,964.1 | 5,506.8 |
| Other Europe | 156.4 | 158.1 | 122.4 | 149.7 | 188.9 | 219.9 |
| USA and Canada | 890.2 | 925.7 | 1,051.1 | 1,137.9 | 1,203.3 | 1,331.7 |
| Central, South & Other Americas | 88.6 | 96.1 | 150.5 | 73.7 | 166.6 | 111.6 |
| Asia | 347.0 | 368.5 | 472.4 | 477.0 | 587.7 | 798.4 |
| Africa | 142.3 | 168.4 | 117.5 | 122.3 | 154.6 | 94.5 |
| Australia, New Zealand & Oceania | 134.2 | 119.4 | 187.0 | 99.3 | 169.4 | 189.7 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
Almost 9.4 million outbound trips were undertaken by Irish residents in 2019. The average length of stay on outbound trips was 7.2 nights, varying from 6.2 nights within the European Union, 13.6 nights in USA and Canada and 20.8 nights in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. Total expenditure by Irish residents on outbound trips amounted to just under €8,253 million during 2019, of which two thirds (66.7%) was spent within the European Union.
Interactive table: StatBank HTA12
Link to release: Household Travel Survey
| Table 22.4 Domestic travel (overnight trips) by Irish residents - number of trips, number of nights, average length of stay and expenditure by reason for journey, 2014 - 2019 | ||||||
| '000 | ||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Total domestic - trips | 8,991 | 9,125 | 9,359 | 9,626 | 10,919 | 11,621 |
| Holiday | 4,436 | 4,658 | 4,870 | 4,886 | 5,323 | 5,819 |
| Business | 453 | 407 | 431 | 426 | 473 | 551 |
| Visiting friends/relatives | 2,918 | 2,921 | 3,045 | 3,096 | 3,759 | 3,847 |
| Education & training | 128 | 167 | 157 | 218 | 183 | 188 |
| Sporting events | 396 | 331 | 296 | 335 | 387 | 392 |
| Work/looking for work | 101 | 80 | 84 | 68 | 130 | 159 |
| Other1 | 559 | 559 | 477 | 598 | 664 | 665 |
| Total domestic - nights | 26,086 | 25,267 | 25,589 | 25,539 | 28,393 | 29,469 |
| Holiday | 14,424 | 14,751 | 15,077 | 13,844 | 15,058 | 16,003 |
| Business | 904 | 672 | 764 | 745 | 779 | 879 |
| Visiting friends/relatives | 7,335 | 6,877 | 7,238 | 7,689 | 9,000 | 8,836 |
| Education & training | 745 | 952 | 772 | 1,218 | 884 | 985 |
| Sporting events | 755 | 630 | 574 | 669 | 678 | 739 |
| Work/looking for work | 368 | 259 | 220 | 288 | 449 | 605 |
| Other1 | 1,556 | 1,126 | 944 | 1,086 | 1,545 | 1,423 |
| Nights | ||||||
| Average length of stay | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Holiday | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Business | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Visiting friends/relatives | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| Education & training | 5.8 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
| Sporting events | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 |
| Work/looking for work | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Other1 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| €million | ||||||
| Total domestic - expenditure | 1,713.5 | 1,725.3 | 1,797.7 | 1,879.1 | 2,006.0 | 2,146.6 |
| Holiday | 992.8 | 1,070.4 | 1,135.8 | 1,129.2 | 1,232.6 | 1,335.9 |
| Business | 110.3 | 98.0 | 106.3 | 123.3 | 116.9 | 124.9 |
| Visiting friends/relatives | 327.0 | 296.5 | 297.0 | 353.1 | 352.9 | 371.8 |
| Education & training | 40.6 | 60.7 | 53.9 | 73.3 | 56.7 | 76.4 |
| Sporting events | 67.3 | 58.7 | 64.3 | 62.1 | 61.6 | 74.4 |
| Work/looking for work | 21.0 | 17.9 | 19.2 | 19.3 | 30.6 | 26.9 |
| Other1 | 154.5 | 123.1 | 121.2 | 118.7 | 154.7 | 136.3 |
| 1 Other includes Health & Medical, Religious, Shopping and other reasons not elsewhere specified. | ||||||
| Source: CSO | ||||||
Irish residents took more than 11.6 million domestic trips in 2019. The average length of stay for domestic trips was 2.5 nights, resulting in a total of 29.5 million bed nights. Holidays accounted for half of all domestic trips (50.1%), while more than 3.8 million trips (33.1%) were to visit friends or relatives. Total expenditure by Irish residents on domestic trips for 2019 amounted to €2,147 million. Holidays accounted for €1,336 million of this, which was an increase of 8.4% compared with 2018.
Interactive table: StatBank HTA01
Link to release: Household Travel Survey
| Holiday | Business | Visiting Friends/Relatives | Education and Training | Sporting Events | Other incl. Work/Looking for Work | |
| 2014 | 4436 | 453 | 2918 | 128 | 396 | 660 |
| 2015 | 4658 | 407 | 2921 | 167 | 331 | 639 |
| 2016 | 4870 | 431 | 3045 | 157 | 296 | 561 |
| 2017 | 4886 | 426 | 3096 | 218 | 335 | 666 |
| 2018 | 5323 | 473 | 3759 | 183 | 387 | 794 |
| 2019 | 5819 | 551 | 3847 | 188 | 392 | 824 |
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