The domestic tourism market grew strongly in 2023 with over 14.3 million trips taken by Irish holidaymakers which generated €3.1 billion for the economy.
New figures from Fáilte Ireland show over one million extra domestic holidays were taken by Irish people in 2023, an annual increase of 8%.
Related expenditure was also up by 6.5% on the previous year with an additional €200m spent on domestic holidays.
However, the figures also reveal that while most traditional tourism destinations for Irish holidaymakers in the south and west of Ireland recorded strong growth, the increase in visitor numbers was more moderate in other areas.
The breakdown of domestic travel by Irish holidaymakers shows that some counties – particularly in parts of the north-west and north-east – even experienced a downturn in visitor numbers compared to 2022, despite the overall resurgence in the holiday market after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Research carried out by Fáilte Ireland – the national tourism development authority – also highlighted how Irish people took shorter trips when holidaying in the Republic last year.
Overall, they spent an average of 2.4 nights per trip with a total of 34 million overnight stays recorded in 2023.
However, the average length of domestic holidays is down from three nights the previous year when Irish holidaymakers had a total of 34.2 million overnight stays.
The longer time spent on holidays within Ireland in 2022 is believed to be linked to some travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic remaining in place which made some people more reluctant to holiday abroad.
However, the latest figures show there was a strong resurgence in the number of trips to Dublin last year as they were up 30% to over 2.4 million.
It was the highest rate of increase in holiday trips among any of the 26 counties in 2023.
Associated expenditure by visitors to the capital was up 17% to €490m.
But average length of stays by native tourists to Dublin was relatively short at 1.9 days.
Cork was the second most popular destination for Irish holidaymakers with the number of trips up almost 10% last year to over 1.7 million.
Revenue generated from domestic holidays to Cork was up 20% to €402.1m with visitors staying an average of 2.6 nights per trip.
Kerry was ranked their third favourite destination with over 1.3 million trips – also up 10% on 2022 levels.
At the same time spending in the Kingdom by domestic visitors rose by a dramatic 43% to just under €433m, about €130m more than in 2022, making Kerry the most valuable tourist market outside Dublin.
Tourists to Kerry last year spent an average of 3.7 overnight stays per trip – the highest figure for any county in Ireland in 2023.
Donegal and Clare were the only other areas where tourists spent an average of three or more nights on holidays last year.
The number of domestic trips taken to Donegal was up 22% to almost 700,000, while the number of holidays spent in Clare rose by 14% to 674,000.
A perennial favourite with Irish holidaymakers, the number of domestic trips to Galway in 2023 was up 20% to almost 1.2 million, although the increase in related expenditure was more modest – up 6% to €236m.
Trips to Waterford were also up strongly to just under 500,000 with an 18% in the number of domestic holidaymakers, although overall spending by visitors was down 7.5% to €98m due to shorter average stays.
The figures are based on the annual results of the Household Travel Survey carried out by the Central Statistics Office with expenditure estimates generated by Fáilte Ireland.
They also reveal that the general increase in domestic tourism numbers was not witnessed everywhere with the number of holidays in Sligo down an estimated 37% from 476,000 in 2022 to 302,000 last year.
Other counties to record a drop in the number of domestic holidays were Roscommon/Longford (down 26% to 277,000); Louth/Monaghan (down 12.5% to 294,000) and Westmeath (down 11% to 262,000).
Smaller decreases in visitor numbers were also recorded in Cavan/Leitrim, Wexford, Kilkenny and Limerick, although the value of such holidays rose in the latter two.
Despite strong growth in visitor numbers along most of the Wild Atlantic Way, domestic trips to Mayo were also down 12% to 649,000.
Article Source – Over one million domestic holidays taken last year, up 8% – Fáilte Ireland – RTE
