UK (Commonwealth) _ The Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Ireland said on Wednesday that the number of foreign visitors to the country reached over 1.16 million in July, an increase of 12.5% from the previous year. Travelers arrived for the first Christmas season since the Covid-19 outbreak broke out, marking a five-fold increase in foreign arrivals.
According to the CSO, tourists from Britain accounted for the greatest share of all countries in Ireland in July, with over 350,000 British citizens visiting the nation—a 3.4 percent increase over the previous year.
The number of tourists from the United States, Canada, and other European nations increased significantly in July. According to the CSO, over 300,000 citizens of the United States and Canada traveled to Ireland last month, a rise of about 25% from the previous year. Meanwhile, over 420,000 citizens of European nations other than Britain traveled there, indicating a 12.5% increase from the previous year.
According to the report, there was a double-digit rise in foreign visitors in July. The total number of foreign visitors to the nation was over 85,000, representing a 16.1% increase over the previous year.
Over six million foreign nationals visited Ireland in the first seven months of this year, increasing 7.8% from the same time last year, according to the report. According to the CSO, 9.93 million foreign visitors to Ireland last year brought in around 6.5 billion euros (7.6 billion US dollars) in revenue for the nation.
According to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), over 1,965,400 travelers arrived in Ireland via international flights. Compared to the 380,700 arrivals that were reported in July 2021, this is a far greater number.
Approximately 1,783,600 people came by air in July, while 181,800 passengers arrived by water in Ireland. At 661,200, Britain was the nation with the greatest number of arrivals. An improvement in the travel and tourism sector is indicated by the notable rise in arrivals.
The number of arrivals registered in July was 12% less than in July 2019, when Ireland recorded 2,225,900 visitors, indicating that arrivals had not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.
The rebound is evident in both forms of transportation (air and sea), yet the recovery in air travel is more noticeable, according to statistician Gregg Patrick. All main routes are experiencing a recovery, although transatlantic traffic is rising the greatest in comparison, with eight transatlantic passengers expected in July 2022 for every one in July 2021.”
With 277,200 passengers arriving in Ireland via these routes, Spain was the top travel destination in continental Europe. By comparison, this was a more than six-fold rise from July 2021. According to recently released data from the Central Statistics Office, 6.3 million international tourists left Ireland for other countries in 2023.
In all, the tourists’ travel expenses came to €7.3 billion. Of this, €1.9 billion went for airfare, €0.3 billion went toward prepayments (such as vehicle rentals, tickets reserved in advance, and other non-accommodation items paid for in advance), €2.3 billion went toward lodging, and €2.8 billion went toward daily expenses.
The average tourist paid €302 for their ticket, €40 for advance payments, €375 for lodging, and €454 for daily expenses. Great Britain accounted for 2.4 million of the 6.3 million foreign tourists that left Ireland via overseas routes last year, or the largest percentage (37.9%).
According to the data released today, holidays accounted for 40.6% of the tourists’ reasons for visiting Ireland, and they spent a total of 51.1 million nights there. The guests spent an average of €1,171 on their travel expenses and stayed 8.2 nights on average.
Almost 2.3 million people visited Ireland in 2015 with the intention of seeing relatives or friends; this was the second most common reason for travel. With an average stay of 8.2 nights, these tourists stayed longer than the vacationers on average, spending a total of 18.9 million nights in the nation.
However, they also generally spent less than vacationers, with an average of €721 spent on travel (or €1.7 billion overall).
918,600 international tourists arrived for job or business-related reasons. These business travelers stayed 5.8 million nights overall, with the shortest visits (6.3 nights on average). During their travels, they averaged €1,161, for a total expenditure of €1.1 billion.
According to the CSO, 7.1% of tourists to Ireland also traveled to Northern Ireland, with 77.8% of them doing so for pleasure or vacation. They spent €237 and, on average, stayed in Northern Ireland for 2.2 nights.
