CSO figures for May show 10% drop in tourist numbers

Inbound tourism to the State was down 10 per cent last month compared to the same period in 2024, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Some 560,500 foreign visitors made a trip to the Republic in May, spending €477 million, down 21 per cent compared with the same month last year.

The largest contingent of visitors came from Britain (35 per cent) and the United States (25 per cent). The most frequent reason for travelling was for holiday and leisure (43 per cent), followed by visiting friends or relatives (31 per cent).

The figures are included in the CSO’s Inbound Tourism release, published monthly.

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The average length of stay for visitors was 7.3 nights, up from an average of 7.2 nights in May 2024, and down from 7.8 nights in May 2023.

Visitors stayed a total of 4.1 million nights in the State, a drop of 8 per cent when compared with May 2024, and down 9 per cent when compared with May 2023.

Gregg Patrick, statistician in the CSO’s tourism and travel division, said the number of foreign visitors who departed the State on overseas routes last month was down by 10 per cent compared with May 2024 and by 2 per cent compared with May 2023.

He said that compared with May 2024, visitor numbers from Britain fell by 9 per cent, from continental Europe by 21 per cent, and from the rest of the world, outside of North America, by 38 per cent.

“In contrast, visitors from North America were up 11 per cent,” he added. “Compared with May 2023, visitors from Great Britain were down by 1 per cent, continental Europe by 22 per cent, and the rest of the world by 9 per cent, whilst visitors from North America were up 33 per cent.”

The CSO has held a series of meetings with tourism bodies over concerns that declining inbound tourist data is out of kilter with industry experience.

[ CSO meets tourism industry over ‘confusing’ visitor dataOpens in new window ]

Fáilte Ireland was the latest organisation to seek a briefing from statisticians last month. Inbound tourist numbers have declined consistently since last September, raising eyebrows among tourism operators who have not noticed a corresponding effect on business.