The first 10 months of the year saw an 8%, year-on-year, jump in the number of tourist visitors entering Ireland, with them spending 15% more than during the same period last year.
That is according to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
However, October figures alone, show a mixed picture – with visitor volumes down 5% on the same month last year.
The January to October period shows Ireland welcomed 5.79 million visitors, who spent a combined €5.38bn, which was 4% ahead of last year.
For October, on its own, 548,000 people visited – 5% down, year-on-year. The month saw a continued softening in visitor numbers from Britain, whilst North American visitor numbers were also down; however that was largely due to this October being on the eve of a US Presidential Election.
Mainland Europe proved a popular source market for tourists in October, however, with visitor numbers from the Continent up 3% and spend up 22%.
Tourism Ireland has warned that challenges to visitor volume growth may persist during the winter months due to ongoing restrictions at Dublin Airport.
Alice Mansergh, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “It is positive to see that overseas tourism spend so far in 2024 has grown +15% compared to the same period in 2023, with Mainland Europe, Great Britain and North America all demonstrating revenue growth. This growth is vital for the tourism industry, at a time when cost inflation means margins are tight, and we’re proud to support demand growth through our overseas marketing.
“October as a standalone month grew also in terms of overseas tourism spend compared to October 2023, at almost +4%, but there are some visible challenges or risks to navigate that show up in this month’s data. Visitors in October spent +9% more per trip, and while almost 550,000 visitors chose to come to Ireland, this was -5% fewer than in October 2023, driven by a softening from Great Britain and the first dip in volumes of visitors from North America that we’ve seen this year – albeit that October was the month before the US election.
“There are some constraints ahead, with air access limited for the winter season by the cap at Dublin airport, which is on hold for summer 2025, but has already been applied for winter 2024. Despite growth at regional airports, the cap at Dublin has an impact, as it is the airport typically supporting ~70% of air access to the island of Ireland and ~85% of air access for Ireland exclusive of Northern Ireland. With Dublin at 96% of the air seat capacity it had last winter, the island overall dips to 99% of the air seat capacity or air access it had last year, with markets such as Great Britain and North America affected, at 97% and 96% seat capacity respectively for winter 2024 vs winter 2023.
“Tourism Ireland welcomes steps being taken to review the cap at Dublin airport as a priority. In the meantime, we are partnering with air and sea carriers to support growth in demand for routes directly into the regions, to mitigate risk where possible. This winter, we are promoting reasons to explore across seasons, we have publicity programmes under way across 13 markets and we will be launching kickstart campaigns across TV and digital channels overseas to inspire bookings to come and explore Ireland as a top destination for 2025. December is often a key period when people begin to consider their main holidays for the year ahead and we will be supporting the tourism industry to win hearts, minds and trips.”
