| Persons intending to take a trip by Destination and Reference period, April 2021 | |||
| Trip Intentions % | |||
| Domestic | Overseas | Northern Ireland | |
| Reference period | |||
| In 2021 | 80.1 | 47.3 | 18.5 |
| In 2022 or later | 4.5 | 34.5 | 8.7 |
| Not thinking of one | 15.3 | 18.2 | 72.7 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 |
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The CSO Intention to Travel Survey which was undertaken during the last week of April and first week of May 2021 revealed that seven in ten people (73.6%) intend to take an overnight domestic trip within the next six months. For overseas trips the corresponding figure is 32.4%, and for trips being planned to Northern Ireland it was 15.4% of Irish residents aged 18 and over. See table 2.
The survey found that almost two-thirds (64.6%) of Irish residents aged 18 and over had cancelled an overnight trip due to COVID-19 since March 2020. More than half of Irish residents (54.5%) cancelled overnight overseas trips due to COVID-19, while 39.6% cancelled overnight domestic trips. See table 1.
While 47.3% of people intend to travel abroad in 2021, 34.5% intend to take their next trip outside the island of Ireland in 2022 or later, and the remainder (18.2%) are not thinking about trips abroad at present. See table 3.
The survey results also show that for those Irish residents aged 18 and over who are planning a trip in the next twelve months:
The South-West region (28.7%) is the most popular destination for those intending to take an overnight domestic trip. This is followed by the West and South-East regions at 20.6% and 13.3% respectively. See table 4a.
Just under three-quarters of people (74.2%) intending to take their next overnight domestic trip in the next twelve months want to do so for holidays, leisure and recreation purposes, while 22.4% plan to visit friends and relatives. Those who are intending to make an overnight domestic business trip account for just 1.1% of people.
One-fifth (20.7%) of those intending to take an overnight domestic trip plan to use self-catering accommodation, while 56.7% will use hotel, guesthouse or B&B accommodation.
One-third of people (33.5%) who are intending to take a trip overseas in the next twelve months stated the reason for the trip would be to visit friends and relatives, while 24.6% of those planning a trip to Northern Ireland intend to travel for the same purpose. See tables 4b and 4c.