The island of Ireland is becoming one of the most important destinations in Europe's travel and tourism landscape. With magical sceneries and truly endless things to do in Ireland, it truly is a treasure trove of otherworldly charms.
Made up of the Republic of Ireland, as well as Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. This island is the birthplace of many illustrious writers including Oscar Wilde. It is also known for the lavish landscape and stunning medieval castles.
So, it should not be a surprise that millions of people visit Ireland each year. In fact, the island welcomed 17.3 million overseas arrivals to its air and sea ports in 2022.
The tourism sector is becoming a more and more integral part of the Irish economy and lifestyle. 5.6% of all employed people in Ireland actually work in the travel industry.
We have compiled some of the most interesting statistics about travel and tourism in Ireland, from the number of tourists it receives each year to how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Irish tourism.
Let’s dive right in!
Sources: After each stat, I have referenced where the data was gathered and curated from. For a full list of all articles and sources used in this roundup, please head to the bottom of the post. At the time of publication, these are the most up-to-date statistics available. Little data was gathered in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
How Popular is Ireland Among International Tourists?
[TourismIreland]
In 2022, overseas arrivals to the Republic of Ireland (this includes residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) were only at 86% of the 2019 levels.
[TourismIreland]
260 thousand of these overnight visitors came from Great Britain, 273 thousand were from mainland Europe, while 165 thousand were from North America.
[TourismIreland]
The tourism market that spends the most nights in Ireland is mainland European (3.28 million nights in August 2023).
[TourismIreland]
The island of Ireland generated €5.9 or £5.1 billion from tourist expenditure in 2019.
[TourismIreland]
Half of all overseas visitors to Ireland are holiday makers, 32% are visiting friends or on a family trip, 14% are coming on business visits, while 4% are visiting for other purposes.
[TourismIreland]
The average spend by an overseas tourist in 2019 was £451, while the average length of stay was 7.3 nights.
[Statista]
Meanwhile, domestic spending made up 23.6% of the total travel and tourism expenditure in Ireland in 2022.
[TourismIreland]
Ireland receives the most tourists from Great Britain (42%), followed by the US (15%), Germany (7%), and France (5%).
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
They usually include an average of 2.5 regions in their trip compared to the 1.9 region of overseas tourists as a whole.
[TourismIreland]
Tourists from mainland Europe tend to be younger (47% are below 35 years old) whereas tourists from Other Areas are typically older, with 62% being above 35 years old.
Learn more about age-specific travel trends in our Millennial Travel Statistics.
This was a huge increase from only 59% in 2009.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
How Many British Tourists Visit Ireland?
[TourismIreland]
Britain is the most important market for Ireland in terms of tourists and nights.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
Great Britain is the world's 4th largest outbound market making around 93 million trips annually, 5% of which is to the island of Ireland.
[TourismIreland]
Scotland makes up 14% of all British tourists that travelled to Ireland in 2019.
[TourismIreland]
For most tourists from Great Britain (58%), the ideal length of trip to Ireland is between 1 and 3 nights. Only 10% of British tourists stay for 9 nights or longer.
[TourismIreland]
In 2019, Ireland made €1.4 or £1.3 billion in revenue from British tourists alone, which accounts to 25% of the island’s tourism revenue.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
38% of all holiday expenditure by British tourists goes towards food & drink. Followed by accommodation, shopping, then transport.
How Do American Visitors Contribute to Ireland’s Tourism Sector?
[TourismIreland]
The United States of America is the largest source of overseas revenue for Ireland and the 2nd most important source of tourists after Great Britain.
[TourismIreland]
The United States has the largest outbound market in the world. In 2019, 43% of outbound trips from the US were to Europe and 9% of these included a visit to Ireland.
[TourismIreland]
This amount has grown by 71% since 2014.
[TourismIreland]
For an average trip to the island of Ireland by an American holidaymaker, they would spend £797. With food & drink being the largest portion of expenditure, followed by accommodation, shopping and transport.
[TourismIreland]
29% of American tourists stay for 6-8 nights in Ireland.
[TourismIreland]
This is almost 55,000 direct air seats per week leaving from the US to Ireland.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
How popular is Ireland among domestic tourists?
[Failte Ireland]
13.2 million trips to Ireland were made in 2022 by domestic tourists, which is a slight increase from 2019 (11.6 million trips).
[Failte Ireland]
Nearly half of the total domestic trips made to Ireland in 2022 were for holidaying purposes.
[Failte Ireland]
Meanwhile, 528 thousand were business trips.
[Failte Ireland]
Hotels are the most popular accommodation choice among domestic tourists in Ireland. Meanwhile, 12% of them stay in holiday homes. Airbnb statistics have yet to be confirmed for Ireland tourism.
[Failte Ireland]
The second most popular time is April to June (27%).
[Statista]
[Statista]
[Failte Ireland]
Why do tourists come to Ireland?
[TourismIreland]
14% of all visitors to Ireland come for business purposes.
[Failte Ireland]
Nature-oriented activities remain the most popular among both domestic and overseas visitors to Ireland alike, with hiking or cross country walking being a favourite for overseas tourists.
[Failte Ireland]
[Failte Ireland]
Most overseas visitors to Ireland use the internet to plan their trip. On the other hand, one-fourth of them also rely on guide books, while only 14% plan with the help of travel agents.
This shows the increasing role of online booking in travel.
[Failte Ireland]
About 20% of all leisure visitors to Ireland are solo travellers.
How many people are involved in the tourism sector in Ireland?
[Statista]
In 2018, there were 127,100 people employed in the Irish tourism sector, which is around 5.6% of all employment in Ireland.
[Statista]
[Statista]
[Failte Ireland]
Failte Ireland estimates that every €1 million spent by tourists in Ireland can support 27 jobs in the country’s travel industry.
How does the tourism sector affect the economy in Ireland?
[Statista]
[Statista]
[Statista]
Statista forecasts that the Irish tourism sector will contribute up to €26 billion in GDP for the country’s economy.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
Visitors from the US are the most important source in terms of tourist revenue for the island of Ireland.
[TourismIreland]
Domestic tourists from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland also contribute a significant amount of tourism revenue.
[Failte Ireland]
[Statista]
This is unfortunately lower than the pre-pandemic levels of 15.9 billion euros in 2019.
[Statista]
The other 42.5% is from business spending, which is a higher proportion compared to to 2019, when business spending made up only 29.8% of the total travel and tourism spending in Ireland.
What are the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland?
[Failte Ireland]
Dublin is home to 4 of the 10 most popular free and paid attractions in Ireland. This includes the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Zoo, Book of Kells, and St Patrick’s Cathedral for the paid attraction.
There are also the National Gallery of Ireland, National Botanic Gardens, National Museum of Ireland Archaeology, and Irish Museum of Modern Art for the free attractions.
[Failte Ireland]
[Failte Ireland]
How did the recent Coronavirus pandemic impact tourism in Ireland?
[Central Statistics Office]
In March 2020 when Covid-19 began to directly impact Ireland and the UK, international arrivals in Ireland fell by 56.7% from March 2019.
[Central Statistics Office]
There were only 16,100 arrivals in Ireland in April 2020, compared to 1.7 million in April 2019. This is a substantial decrease of 99.1%.
[Central Statistics Office]
The most recent statistics of overseas travel in Ireland shows that air and sea travel are slowly recovering from the year-long travel ban and restrictions. It still hasn’t regained its levels before the pandemic, but is an improvement from 2020.
[Central Statistics Office]
While this number is steadily increasing, it is still far below the pre-pandemic arrival level of 1.9 million in June 2019.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
Holiday makers around the world admit that when choosing a European travel destination for their post-Covid plan, the most important elements are beautiful scenery and rich history and culture. The island of Ireland abounds with both of these.
How many hotels are there in Ireland?
[IbisWorld]
The market size of the hotel industry in Ireland has decreased by an average of 1.6% per year between 2018 and 2023.
[IbisWorld]
This is an average of 26.7 employees per hotel.
[IbisWorld]
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
While hotels in Dublin tend to be on the expensive side, it is still a beautiful destination for backpackers.
[TourismIreland]
This shows a positive recovery on the demand for air travel around the world following the pandemic in 2021.
[TourismIreland]
[TourismIreland]
This includes 89% for the Republic of Ireland and 102% for Northern Island.
The tourism sector in Ireland contributes to 5.4% of the island’s total GDP and this amount is only expected to rise from now on.
Since reaching 17.3 million overseas arrivals in 2022, there is reason to believe that interest in visiting Ireland for holidaying purposes will only grow, especially as the effects of the pandemic have subsided.
In spite of setbacks from Covid-19 and the dramatic fall in number of arrivals this past year, the natural and cultural appeal of Ireland will continue to impress!
We’ve tried to be as comprehensive as we can with this post. Hopefully, it can help you understand more about tourism in Ireland.
Did we miss any crucial statistics about travel and tourism in Ireland?
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