Ireland experienced a significant drop in tourism during January 2025, with just under 340,000 visitors arriving – a 25% decrease compared to the same month last year, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data.
Tourist spending also declined sharply, with visitors spending €214 million (excluding fares), representing a 27.9% reduction from January 2024 figures.
Great Britain remained the largest source market, accounting for 44.1% of all overseas visitors. American tourists made up 12.7% of arrivals, while 6.4% came from Spain and Portugal.
According to The Breaking News, most visitors (52.3%) traveled to Ireland to see friends and family, while 27.2% came for holidays and 15.2% for business purposes. The average stay lasted 8.4 nights, with 58.1% of visitors staying in their own property or with friends and family.
Despite the decline in inbound tourism, outbound travel from Ireland increased slightly. Nearly 1.3 million passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes in January 2025, representing a 1.3% increase compared to January 2024, with Irish residents making up the majority of these departures.