In the latest SOAR report we find that:

• Scheduled seat capacity to the island of Ireland for winter 2024/25 is at 99% of last winter’s levels (OAG) 
• Dublin has 96% of the seat capacity it had in winter 2023/24, due to the application of the airport cap. 
• Air capacity (IoI) for winter from Great Britain has dipped to 97% of 2023/24 levels and for North America to 96%  of 2023/24 levels.
• Central Statistics Office inbound tourism (ROI) statistics from January to October 2024 show that overseas tourists generated €5.38 billion for the economy, up 15% on 2023.  5.8 million overseas tourists visited Ireland during this period,  up 8% year on year.
• Overseas tourists stayed 43 million nights, down -2%. Average length of stay was 7.4 nights, also down slightly.
• While revenue growth is positive, industry challenges include increased costs and changes to spread of visitors, based on length of stay and accommodation availability.

See more in the full report. 

In the latest Hotel Survey report: 

• In August 2024 room demand, and bedspace occupancy reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic, a welcome boost to Dublin with several big-name concerts and events taking place during the month. 
• Performance across the country improved with all reporting counties posting occupancy above 80% for the first time since the pandemic. 
• Source markets  shifts took place with the share of overseas guests and guests from Northern Ireland  increasing and the share of Irish guests decreasing compared to last year.
• Performance by county was varied with year-on-year room demand changes ranging from +16.0% in Wicklow to -11.3% in Wexford.
• August performance by grade deviated from the national trend with 5-star hotels posting healthy RevPAR increases lifted by occupancy whilst conversely 3-star hotels posted healthy RevPAR lifted by ADR. 4-star hotels split the difference with RevPAR increases resulting from gains in both occupancy and ADR.

Fáilte Ireland carried out a survey on the performance of the Industry in August, and the main findings were: 

• Many operators had a disappointing summer season, 24% of businesses saying that they had more customers this summer compared to last summer, and 53% have had fewer.
• Visitor volumes are down in all markets and in all regions of Ireland.
• A number of factors have been cited including – bad weather (51%), lack of disposable income (51%), cost of tourist accommodation (46%) and lack of tourist accommodation (43%).
• These challenges are in addition to the continued high levels of concern about rising operating costs. 
• On a more positive note, 36% of self-catering operators have seen increased visitor levels,  and 43% of inbound tour operators & DMCs have seen more visitors this summer. 
• The food & drink sector however have struggled the most, with 68% seeing fewer customers this summer. 

See more detail in the full presentation. 

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) provides data based on the annual results of their Household Travel Survey (HTS).  Fáilte Ireland then generates expenditure estimates based on the results of the HTS (in this case Q4 and for the year 2023).  This report provides a breakdown of trips, nights, average length of stay and spend by Irish residents by main county visited.   Some of the findings are: 

• Irish residents took 14.3 million domestic trips in 2023,
• They spent a total of €3.1 billion.
• They stayed an average of 2.4 nights per trip, a total 34 million nights. 

See more results by county. 

Key Tourism Facts 2022 is a collation of available key tourism performance data for the year 2022, with a strong focus on the domestic market and includes data on: 

• Domestic Regional Performance 2022
• Domestic Tourism 2022
• Day Trips
• The Tourism Product
• Access to Republic of Ireland 2022
• The Economic Benefit of Tourism

In this Air & Sea Winter Update:

• Air seat capacity to ROI in 2024 is up +3% 2023 levels (as of Dec 2nd 2024)
• The number of seats for Winter 2024/25 is set to decrease by -2%, with reductions across all of Ireland’s key source markets.
• Dublin’s capacity is down -4% vs. Winter 2023/24 with the Dublin Airport passenger cap impacting the overall seat capacity to ROI.
• GB capacity has dropped by 5%,  Aer Lingus has scheduled 115,000 fewer seats this winter.
• Other markets are also expected to be down on capacity -  on last winter, US  (-4%) France (-11%) and Germany (-2%) down on last winter. 

See more data in this report. 

This consumer report looks at the trends and challenges impacting travel, what domestic visitors did over the summer & Identifies future travel intent and planning.

• The trend of consumers taking domestic breaks more frequently and for shorter duration has continued. and the proportion of people taking domestic breaks this summer is in line with summer 2023.

• Satisfaction with domestic summer trips remains high
  amongst Families and Unconstrained Adults over 45.
• Satisfaction levels amongst younger unconstrained adults has fallen compared to last summer.
• Summer concerts and events played an important role in
  encouraging visitors to travel.
• Domestic travel intent for the shoulder season is up
  compared to the same period last year.

See more in the full report.

Results from the Accommodation Occupancy Survey for 2023 found:

• Occupancy rates in every sector were above 2022 levels.
• Guesthouse room occupancy (77%) exceeded 2022 (68%)
• B&B room occupancy (64%) in 2023 was well above 2022 (54%) – but many B&Bs have not reopened.
• Self-catering unit occupancy was 62% in 2023 (compared to 58% in 2022) – this sector recovered faster than others after Covid and so there was less ‘headroom’ to improve significantly on an already good 2022.
• Caravan and campsite pitch occupancy Apr – Sep was 60%, which compares to 56% in 2022 – the poor summer  weather did have an impact. 
• Hostel bed occupancy (65%) in 2023 was also up on 2022 (59%)
• International tourists underpin the growth in 2023.

See more in the full report. 

A one stop shop for key statistics on Ireland’s overseas and domestic tourist performance in 2019. 

Overseas Tourists 

• Tourist Numbers by source market (2015-2019)
• Tourist Revenue 
• Regional Performance by source market
• Month of arrival
• Where did overseas tourists stay
• Activities  tourists engaged in 
• Profile of tourists

Domestic 

• Domestic trips
• Domestic expenditure 
• Where domestic holidaymakers stay 
• Length of stay by time of year
• Activities domestic holidaymakers engaged in