Ireland was one of only two European Union countries to see a drop in tourism last year, even as the EU recorded its highest-ever level of tourist accommodation stays.
New data from the European Commission shows that nights spent in tourist accommodation in the Republic of Ireland fell by an estimated 1.8% in 2025, to 41.3 million. This was the weakest performance among all EU member states. Romaniawas the only other country to record a decline, down 1.4%.
The fall came despite strong growth across the EU as a whole. Total tourist bed nights across the bloc rose by 2%, increasing by 61.5 million compared to 2024 and reaching a record 3.08 billion nights. Strong gains were seen in countries such as Malta, Poland and Latvia.
Hotels accounted for 63% of overnight stays across the EU. In Ireland, hotels made up 61% of tourist nights, with guesthouses and other short-stay accommodation accounting for 33%, and campsites just 6%.
Overseas visitors generated 58% of Ireland’s tourism activity, while domestic travellers made up 42%. The peak summer period saw a sharper decline, with tourist nights in the third quarter of 2025 down 4.1% compared to the previous year.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that tourism bed nights fell by 3% in the first ten months of 2025, even as EU-wide numbers increased. However, a late-year recovery, including a 13% rise in November, is expected to limit Ireland’s overall decline to just under 2%.
Despite Ireland’s slowdown, the European Commission noted that tourism across the EU has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels, standing 7.2% higher than in 2019.