Shorter visits, higher spending for tourists in Ireland

The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation’s (ITIC) latest data release for Q3 2024 paints a nuanced picture of the sector, with ITIC Chair Niall MacCarthy calling it a “mixed bag”. Highlights included a decrease in the length of stay for overseas tourists, even as both revenue and the number of visitors rose year-over-year, along with growing concerns around the rising costs of doing business across the country.

The total number of nights overseas tourists spent in Ireland fell by 7% compared to last year, sliding to 16.4 million. With this said, the number of visitors increased slightly by 1%, reaching 1.99 million, while revenue rose by 10% to €2.15 billion.

Performance varied by geographical location, with North America posting the strongest results year-over-year. Visitor counts from this region rose 9% (to 508,900), the number of overnight stays increased 14% (surpassing 4.4 million), and revenue rose a notable 20% (to €843 million). Considering country-level data, visitors from Canada accounted for 74,400 individuals, reflecting a 15% increase from the same period last year and outpacing the 8% rise in American travellers.

In contrast, other geographical categories—Mainland Europe, Great Britain, and Rest of World—experienced weaker performances in Q3, with overnight stays decreasing 15%, 12%, and 5%, respectively. Interestingly, Rest of World realized the largest relative increase in the number of visitors compared to this time last year, rising 11%.

While this latest release from the ITIC reveals positive results in revenue and visitor numbers across almost all geographical categories, worrying trends are beginning to emerge as overseas tourists spend fewer nights on the Emerald Isle. As tourism slows down in the final quarter of this year, both government and local businesses have an opportunity to leverage these insights in developing a strategic plan for 2025.