The CSO Household Travel Survey Quarter 2 2026 showed Holiday was the primary purpose of domestic trips
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published Household Travel Survey Quarter 2 2026.
Key Findings
- IIrish residents spent a total of 9.2 million nights on domestic trips in Q2 2026, representing a 5% increase compared with the number of nights spent in Q2 2025.
- Holiday was the primary purpose of domestic trips (48%) in Q2 2026, ahead of Visiting Friends / Relatives (36%) and Business (6%).
- Irish residents took 4.1 million overnight trips outside of Ireland in Q2 2026, reflecting a 3% decrease compared with Q2 2025.
- The average length of stay on overnight trips outside of Ireland decreased from 5.6 nights in Q2 2025 to 5.5 nights in Q2 2026.
Commenting on the release, Aaron Costello, Statistician in the Tourism and Travel Division, said:
“The figures provide information on domestic and outbound travel by Irish residents in the months of April, May, and June (Q2) 2026.
Domestic Trips
Domestic overnight trips increased by 3% in Q2 2026 compared with Q2 2025.
The number of nights spent on domestic overnight trips taken in Q2 2026 rose by 5% compared with the same period in 2025. Holiday trips accounted for the largest share of domestic nights at 48%, followed by visits to friends or relatives at 34%. Business travel represented 5% of all overnight stays.
Outbound Trips
The total number of overnight trips outside of Ireland in Q2 2026 decreased by 3% compared with Q2 2025.
Irish residents spent a total of 22.6 million nights on overnight trips outside of Ireland in Q2 2026. The purpose of these overnight trips was led by holidays, accounting for 72% of the total. Visits to friends or relatives represented 19% of the nights, while business-related travel made up 4%.
The average length of stay for overnight trips outside of Ireland was 5.5 nights, versus 5.6 nights in Q2 2025.”
The Household Travel Survey
The Household Travel Survey is carried out by CSO to measure national tourism (i.e. domestic and outbound tourism by Irish residents) and this release contains estimates of the numbers of domestic and outbound overnight trips and same day visits made by Irish residents.
Statistics on foreign visitors to Ireland are sourced from the CSO Passenger Survey, which is carried out at Irish airports and seaports, and presented in the Inbound Tourism series. Note that the Inbound Tourism series does not capture data on residents of Northern Ireland.
To gain a better understanding of internal tourism in Ireland (i.e. both domestic and inbound tourism), users should refer to both Household Travel Survey (for domestic travel data) and Inbound Tourism (for inbound visitor data), noting that at present figures for residents of Northern Ireland are not included in either series.
Read the full report here: CSO Q2 2026
