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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Tourism and Travel

Quarter 4 2019

  Overseas trips to Ireland Trips by Irish residents overseas
‘000 ‘000
Reason for journeyOct - Dec 2018Oct - Dec 2019 Oct - Dec 2018Oct - Dec 2019
Business389379 244216
Visits to Friends/Relatives629688 479477
Holiday/Leisure/Recreation1,0921,040 1,0811,161
Other302318 5555
Total2,4132,425 1,8581,910

Overseas trips by Irish Residents increased by 2.8% for the period October to December 2019

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Overseas trips to Ireland:

  • The number of overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents increased from 2.413 million in Quarter 4 2018 to 2.425 million trips in Quarter 4 2019 (+0.5%). See table 1.
  • The number of nights spent in Ireland by overseas travellers decreased by 0.4% in Quarter 4 2019 compared to the same period of the previous year, from 15.134 million to 15.079 million. See table 4.
  • The average duration of overseas trips to Ireland decreased from 6.3 nights in Quarter 4 2018 to 6.2 nights in Quarter 4 2019. See table 6.
  • Total tourism and travel earnings from overseas travellers to Ireland decreased by 1.6% between Quarter 4 2018 and Quarter 4 2019, decreasing from €1,400 million to €1,378 million. When fares are excluded, total expenditure decreased from €1,047 million to €1,001 million, a decrease of 4.4% over the period. See table 7.

 

Trips by Irish residents overseas:

  • In Quarter 4 2019, the number of overseas trips made by Irish residents increased by 2.8%, from 1.858 million trips in Quarter 4 2018 to 1.910 million. See table 8.
  • The average duration of overseas trips made by Irish residents rose from 6.0 nights in Quarter 4 2018 to 6.5 nights in Quarter 4 2019 See table 9.
  • Total expenditure (including fares) by Irish residents on trips overseas increased by 6.7%, up from €1,517 million in Quarter 4 2018 to €1,618 million in Quarter 4 2019. Total overseas tourism and travel expenditure exclusive of payments to Irish carriers grew 7.0%, from €1,223 million to €1,308 million, over the same periods. See table 10.

 

2019 Annual Results

 

 Overseas trips to Ireland:

 

  • In 2019, a total of 10.808 million overseas trips were made to Ireland compared to 10.616 million trips in 2018 (+1.8%). See table 1.
  • Overseas travellers to Ireland spent a total of 70.4 million nights in the country in 2019 compared to 70.9 million nights the previous year (-0.7%). See table 4a.
  • Overseas travel to Ireland generated earnings of €6,867 million in 2019 compared to €6,874 million in 2018 (-0.1%). When fares are excluded, total expenditure in 2019 was €5,101 million, a decrease of 0.9% on 2018. See table 7.

 

Trips by Irish residents overseas:

 

  • Irish residents made a total of 8.814 million overseas trips in 2019 compared to 8.276 million trips in 2018 (+6.5%). These trips lasted an average of 7.4 nights in 2019 compared to 7.2 nights in 2018 (+2.8%). See tables 8 and 9.
  • Total tourism and travel expenditure on overseas travel by Irish residents increased by 15.2% to €6,497 million in 2019. When fares are included, total expenditure by Irish residents on overseas trips rose from €7,062 million in 2018 to €7,914 million (+12.1%). See table 10.