The latest official tourism numbers point to a continuing fall-off in inbound visitors.
Central Statistics Office (CSO) data for July show some 646,400 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland during the month, a decrease of 1 per cent when compared with the same month in both 2024 and 2023.
The overall spend (excluding air fares) associated with this inbound travel was put at €624 million, down 4 per cent on the same month last year.
The agency’s data on the sector suggest it has been experiencing a decline in both visitor numbers and spending since September last year.
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Several industry bodies, however, claim that the CSO figures do not tally with the experience of businesses on the ground.
Global tourist markets have struggled to recover from the pandemic. Uncertainty around US trade policy is also said to be playing into the trend.
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Tourism is one of Ireland’s largest indigenous industries, employing 257,900 people.
The CSO’s data indicated “the largest contingent of visitors” came from Britain (33 per cent) followed by visitors from the United States (25 per cent).
Visitors from Britain accounted for €118 million (19 per ent) of the overall spend, Continental Europe for €197 million (32 per cent), North America for €255 million (41 per cent), and visitors from the rest of the world for €54 million (9 per cent).
The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was for a holiday (45 per cent), the agency said.
