Irish tourism numbers continued to rebound in March after a drop-off in visitors last year, with overseas travellers also spending more last month than they did in the same month last year, Central Statistics Office (CSO) data has indicated.
Some 510,000 people visited the Republic from overseas during the month of the St Patrick’s Day festival, up 16 per cent from March 2025.
Foreign visitors who departed Ireland in March 2026 stayed a total of 3.2 million nights in the country, up 14 per cent on March 2025 and up 4 per cent on March 2024.
Expenditure by overseas visitors was estimated at €372 million in March, up 14 per cent from March 2025 but down 11 per cent compared with March 2024.
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Visitor numbers and tourist expenditure have increased in each of the first three months of the year compared with the same month in 2025, according to CSO data.
Uncertainty around US trade policy was believed to have dampened the Irish and European tourist market in 2025. The Republic saw a sustained decline in European and UK visitors last year.
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On Thursday, the CSO said there was a sharp uptick in visitors from the US, Europe and Britain last month compared to March 2025.
Ireland’s tourism sector was forecasting a strong rebound in revenues and visits this year, before the US-Israeli coalition launched its war on Iran in late February.
With airlines cutting flights from their schedule in response to expected fuel shortages, the outlook for the remainder of 2026 is uncertain.
