Ireland overseas inbound 2024: Mixed results

Data for overseas visitation in 2024 as reported by Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) show:

• Number of visits +5%
• Spend +11%
• Number of bednights -4%

Great Britain remained the #1 Irish source market. Despite a significant share of VFRs, visit numbers and spend were both up vs. 2023.

​​​​​​​By market region, visit numbers were up by varying degrees:

1. North America +10%
2. Rest of world +7%
3. Mainland Europe +5%
4. Great Britain +3%

Spend by region was up, with the exception of Rest of World:

1. North America +8%
2. Great Britain +6%
3. Mainland Europe +3%
4. Rest of World -8%

However, except for visitors from North America, bednight numbers - or length of stay - were down for all regions:

1. North America +1%
2. Great Britain -7%
3. Rest of World -11%
4. Mainland Europe -15%

​​​​​​​Average per-visitor spend in Ireland by region was:

1. North America: 1526 euro
2. Rest of World: 1415 euro
3. Mainland Europe: 884 euro
4. Great Britain: 509 euro

As expected, results reflect the fact that Ireland is a long-haul destination for visitors from North America and Rest of World, which makes for longer stays and the resultant higher spend.

Drilling down into the mixed results for Mainland Europe reveals weakness in visitor numbers from key country markets France (visits up 2% vs European average of 5%) and Germany (visits up 4%).

But the reason for the 15% yoy decline in bednights is unclear, and problematic.

How to get overseas visitors to stay longer? Watch this space for updates.