Last year, in 2023, Irish inhabitants made a total of 14.3 million overnight domestic journeys and spent €3.1 billion. According to the Central Statistics Office, these numbers represent an increase from the prior year, which saw 13.3 million overnight stays and a total expenditure of €2.9 billion. However, there was a slight decrease in the overall number of nights, with 34 million recorded last year, down from 34.2 million in 2022.
Roughly 45% of these travellers were vacationing, while 40% were visiting friends or family. The southern region of Ireland, including the counties of Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Cork, and Kerry, proved to be the most favoured destination for these overnight trips.
The succeeding popular areas were Eastern and Midlands, comprising Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, and Laois, which accounted for 36% of travels. 12.6 million outbound overnight trips were recorded in the same year with approximately 3 million occurring in the last quarter of 2023. Notably, 38% of these excursions were to a destination in the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Aaron Costello from the Tourism and Travel Division highlighted that there was an 11% surge in domestic overnight trips and a 27% increase in outbound overnight trips in the last quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Spending also escalated during this period, rising by 28% for domestic overnight trips and 52% for outbound ones in comparison with Q4 2022.
In 2023, domestic same-day trips by Irish residents amounted to 15.4 million, with €717 million spent, experiencing a decline from €856 million spent on these visits in 2022, which saw 2 million outbound same-day trips.