Latest quarterly inbound tourism data has continued to show a mixed performance.
The third quarter of this year saw a drop in international visitor nights spent in Ireland, but the combined spending of visitors actually increased.
The data, from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), shows bed nights down 7%, year-on-year. However, the volume of visitors was up 1% and combined spending was up as much as 10%.
Overall, just shy of 2 million visitors were in Ireland during these 3 months spending €2.1bn.
North America was the strongest source market, accounting for €843m, but there was worrying softness from Britain and mainland European markets.
Reacting to the data, Tourism Ireland CEO Alice Mansergh, said: “While monthly figures can move around, it’s illustrative to look at year-to-date data. The CSO figures indicate that Ireland welcomed over 5.2 million overseas tourists for the period January-September 2024 (+10% over the same period in 2023), generating €4.85 billion for the economy (+16%). It is positive to see that both overseas visitor numbers and spend have increased compared to last year. However, visitors are spending on average seven days this year compared to eight days last year. That, combined with the increased costs of doing business for those working in the tourism industry, are current concerns.
“Last year, overseas tourism delivered €6.4 billion in revenue to the island of Ireland and we will exceed that figure this year. We know that the main motivators for people choosing Ireland for a holiday are our spectacular scenery, rich heritage and friendly people. At Tourism Ireland, we are focused on generating demand and targeting visitors that do more, see more, enjoy more – and therefore spend more – during their time here, to help tourism businesses across the island to thrive. We are excited to roll out a strong programme of activity through to end of year – which includes our ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign under way right now, a strong presence at World Travel Market with global tour operators next week, collaboration with air and sea carriers to support demand for key routes, as well as digital and publicity promotions across 14 markets.”
