Foreign Visitors to Ireland
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today released its Inbound Tourism December 2023 report.
Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said: “The results show that among the 1,484,900 passengers departing Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023, some 445,200 (30.0%) were foreign visitors completing their trips (with the balance being Irish residents heading abroad (60.1%) and foreign same-day visitors (9.9%)). Amongst the 445,200 foreign visitors, some 42.0% were from Great Britain, 12.0% were from the United States, and 8.6% were from Spain/Portugal.
Typically, their visit lasted 10.1 nights. Their most frequent reason was for visiting friends and family (40.6%). More of the visitors stayed primarily in family/own property (45.8%) than in any other accommodation type, and the mean cost of their visit was €1,156 (comprising €228 on fare, €79 on prepayments, €389 on accommodation, and €460 on day-to-day expenditure).”
Departing Passenger Categories
In total, 1,484,900 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023. The majority of these (60.1%) were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes. A further 9.9% were same day visitors, comprising Northern Ireland residents heading outbound via an airport or seaport in the Republic of Ireland (3.8%), foreign resident transfer passengers (4.6%) or other foreign resident same day visitors (1.5%). Some 30.0% of the departing passengers were foreign resident overnight visitors, constituting 445,200 visitors in total. The remainder of this release focuses exclusively on the characteristics and activities of these foreign resident overnight visitors (referred to simply as foreign visitors for the sake of brevity).
Detailed Residency
Of the 445,200 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023, the highest proportion (42.0%) was from Great Britain, accounting for 187,000 of the visitors in total. The second highest proportion (12.0%) was from the United States, accounting for 53,300 visitors. The third highest proportion (8.6%) came from Spain/Portugal comprising a further 38,200 visitors. Furthermore, 27,200 (6.1%) of the visitors came from France, 25,800 (5.8%) came from Germany, 23,600 (5.3%) from the Benelux countries, and 16,600 (3.7%) came from Italy.
Nights in Ireland
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023 spent a total of 4,504,300 nights in the country. Broken down by residency, Other Europe visitors spent more nights in the country than any other residency group, accounting for 2,202,900 (48.9%) of the nights. The next most important visitor group, in terms of nights spent, was Great Britain, making up 937,300 (20.8%) of the total nights. Visitors from the United States were third most important, accounting for a further 798,200 (17.7%) of the nights. Other visitors made up 566,000 (12.6%) of the nights.
Reason for Visit
Among the 445,200 foreign visitors departing Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023, more had come to visit family & friends than for any other reason. Some 180,500 (40.6%) had visiting family & friends as the main reason for their trip. The next most likely reason was for holiday purposes, with 145,500 (32.7%) of the visitors coming for this purpose. A further 78,100 (17.5%) of the visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.
Accommodation
Among the 445,200 foreign visitors who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023, some 203,800 (45.8%) used family or own property as their main accommodation type. Another 180,500 (40.5%) of the visitors had stayed in a hotel. A further 15,700 (3.5%) of the visitors used self-catering/rented properties as their main accommodation type, while 11,800 (2.6%) of the foreign visitors used guest house/bed & breakfast as their main accommodation type.
Some 33,000 (7.5%) of the visitors stayed in other private tourism accommodation as their main accommodation type. However, these visitors accounted for 1,875,100 nights, an unusually high percentage (41.6%) of the total. This category was swollen by foreign students, who had been staying in student accommodation and hostels for several months, returning to their home countries over the Christmas period.
Foreign visitors to Ireland who departed Ireland on overseas routes in December 2023 spent a total of €514.5 million on their trips.
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 €204.6 million (39.8% of the total expenditure). The next costliest subheading was accommodation at €173.2 million (33.7% of the total). Fares cost a further €101.6 million (19.7% of the total). Lastly, prepayments (items paid in advance, such as car hire, pre-booked tickets, etc.) comprised just €35.1 million (6.8% of the total).
Overall, the typical foreign visitor spent €1,156 on their trip to Ireland, breaking down as €228 on their fare, €79 on prepayments, €389 on accommodation, and €460 on day-to-day expenses.
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