Tourists flocking back to Ireland but numbers still below pre-pandemic levels

The number of overseas arrivals into Ireland was up five-fold in July compared with the same month last year, but remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels as the tourism industry continued its recovery from Covid-19, new data shows.

The latest air and sea travel statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show more than 1,965,400 passengers arrived in Ireland on overseas routes during the month. This compared with 380,700 arrivals in July 2021.

Some 1,783,600 passengers arrived by air and 181,800 by sea. More arrivals came via Britain (661,200) than any other country.

CSO statistician Gregg Patrick described the increase in overseas visitors over the year as “very substantial”.

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The increase compared with July 2020 was even more substantial, when just 227,300 overseas passengers arrived. However, he said overseas arrivals remain significantly lower (12 per cent) than pre-pandemic July 2019, when 2,225,900 overseas passengers arrived.

“The recovery is seen in both air and sea, although the recovery in air travel is most pronounced with a five-fold increase compared to July 2021,” he said.

“The recovery is also spread across all major routes, with transatlantic traffic up most in relative terms with eight transatlantic passengers arriving in July 2022 for every one in July 2021.

“Among the continental routes, Spanish routes were the busiest, with 277,200 passengers arriving on these routes, a more than six-fold increase compared to July 2021.

“However, in overall terms, Britain remained the most important departure country for overseas travellers to Ireland, with 661,200 passengers arriving on air and sea routes from Britain, compared to just 122,700 in July 2021.”

The inaugural flight from Dublin Airport’s new €321 million north runway took off last week. It is hoped the runway will result in a 31 per cent gain in connectivity for Dublin Airport by 2034, making it an important hub for transatlantic travel.

Irish tourism chiefs also received an unexpected boon on Monday as Capel Street in Dublin city centre was named as one of the “coolest” streets in the world in a survey by global travel magazine Time Out.

The street ranked 22nd and was noted for its “whirl of culture” with “some of the best food in Dublin”.