Sharp drop in staycations during second half of last year

There was a sharp drop in the number of domestic trips taken by Irish residents in the second half of last year compared with the same period the year before, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

Irish residents took more than 5.3 million domestic trips in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 18.6 per cent. These trips resulted in just over 18 million bed nights, which was the same amount as in the second half of 2019.

Total expenditure on domestic trips in the third and fourth quarters amounted to €1.2 billion. Those on holidays accounted for €916 million of this, while those visiting friends or relatives spent €168 million.

When compared with the same period in 2019, expenditure on holidays was up 11.5 per cent, while spending on trips to visit friends or relatives was down by a quarter (-24.9 per cent).

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People who stayed in hotel accommodation accounted for almost 1.7 million domestic trips in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, while those staying with family or friends accounted for more than 1.8 million trips.

Overall, hotel stays were down by almost one-third (-31.6 per cent) in the second half of 2020, while trips to self-catering/rented house were up by a quarter (+24.7 per cent).

Irish residents took 5.6 per cent less domestic holiday trips in the second half of 2020 when compared with the same period in 2019. Trips to visit friends or relatives were down by 20.2 per cent, while business trips were down by 70.1 per cent.

While holiday trips were down overall in the third and fourth, the number of nights spent on domestic holidays were up by 1.1 million nights (+10.4 per cent).

In the third quarter, domestic trips increased by 290,000 compared with the same period the year before, but, in the fourth quarter, trips declined by just over 1.5 million.

While nights were up by 2.1 million and expenditure was up €170 million in the third quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, nights on trips fell by 2.3 million and expenditure dropped by €286 million in the fourth quarter.