Key Tourism Facts 2019

Research

March 2021

Contents
Tourism Facts 2019

Tourism Numbers
2015–2019

Tourism Revenue
2015–2019

Regional Performance
2019

Overseas Tourists
in 2019

Overseas
Holidaymakers 2019

Domestic Tourism
2019

The Tourism Product

Attendance at
Popular Visitor
Attractions in Ireland
2019

Quick definitions:
Visitor: a traveller
taking a trip to a
destination outside
his/her usual
environment, for less
than a year, for any
main purpose other than to be
employed by a resident entity
in the country or place visited

Tourist:

54%
a visitor whose
trip includes an
overnight stay
of overseas
tourists
Holidaymaker: come here
a tourist whose on holidays
main reason for
travelling is holiday/
leisure/recreation

Click on this icon to bring you back to the first page 1

 The economic benefit of tourism
Research

Expenditure by tourists visiting Ireland (excluding receipts paid to

Irish carriers by foreign visitors) was estimated to be worth €5.6 billion
in 2019. Combining spending by international tourists with the money spent
by Irish residents taking trips here and receipts paid to Irish carriers by
foreign visitors, total tourism expenditure in 2019 was estimated to be €9.5
billion.
Overseas tourists to Ireland in 2019 grew by 0.7% to 9.7 million. Overseas tourists from Britain grew by
0.2% while North America dipped slightly by -3.1%. This was offset by Mainland Europe recording growth
of 2.8% and other long haul markets growing by 3.4% in 2019.

Mainland Europe accounts for 37.3% of our overseas tourists and is not our single largest source market,
with Britain accounting for 36.0% of overseas tourists to Ireland. Some 19.7% come from North America
and the balance of 7.0% come from other long haul markets. Revenue from Mainland Europe and North
America equates to 35.8% and 33.0% of overseas tourism revenue respectively. British tourists account
for 19.8% of overseas tourism spend in Ireland with 11.5% spent by other long haul tourists.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS DIRECT EMPLOYMENT IN THE TOURISM AND

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
In 2019, out-of-state (Overseas and Northern Ireland)
tourist expenditure amounted to €5.6 billion. With a The Central Statistics Office’s official count of direct
further €1.8 billion spent by overseas visitors on fares employment in ‘Accommodation and food service
to Irish carriers, foreign exchange earnings were €7.4 activities’, a category which includes hotels, restaurants,
billion. Domestic tourism expenditure amounted to €2.1 bars, canteens and catering, was 177,700 in Q3 2019
billion, making tourism a €9.5 billion industry. (7.6% of total employment). This estimate of
employment is based on the CSO’s Household Survey
Before allowing for receipts paid to Irish air and sea and the jobs identified are defined as ‘the respondent’s
carriers by overseas tourists, the government earned main job’ and include both full-time and part-time.
estimated revenue of €1.8 billion through taxation of
tourism. This grows to €2.2 billion when carrier receipts Drawing on an alternative approach, an estimate of all
are factored into the analysis, of which €1.7 billion came jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry based on
from out-of-state tourism and the balance from domestic past Fáilte Ireland surveys of businesses (full-time,
tourism. In 2019 the tourism industry accounted for part-time, seasonal/casual and not confined to ‘main’
3.7% of all tax revenue. job) indicates total employment in the sector at
approximately 260,000. This estimate includes an
In 2019 the value of exported goods and services was additional category of tourism services and attractions
estimated at €440 billion of which €7.4 billion can be which is not covered by the CSO.
directly attributed to tourism (i.e., foreign exchange
earnings), accounting for 1.7% of export earnings.
Being largely service based, tourism goods have low
import content in comparison to other exports.

Total out-of-state expenditure, inclusive

of carrier receipts and domestic tourism
expenditure, comes to €9.5 billion,
which represents 3.6% of GNP in
revenue terms.

Because tourism is characterised by the

fact that consumption takes place where
the service is available and tourism activity
is frequently concentrated in areas which
lack an intensive industry base, it is
credited with having a significant regional
distributive effect.

2
Where did Ireland’s tourists come from?
Research

Tourist Numbers 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Change

(000s) 19 vs 18

Britain 3,346 3,632 3,445 3,480 3,487 0.2%

Mainland Europe 2,880 3,102 3,256 3,512 3,609 2.8%

France 471 494 512 525 534 1.7%

Germany 609 624 644 763 728 -4.6%

Italy 304 326 343 376 364 -3.2%

Spain 322 370 411 404 411 1.7%

Netherlands 174 222 230 229 235 2.7%

Belgium 121 127 123 128 122 -4.3%

Denmark 66 64 70 68 71 5.2%

Sweden 64 59 75 75 77 2.3%

Switzerland 105 107 104 111 120 8.2%

Austria 53 58 60 68 77 12.6%

Norway 58 50 54 53 48 -7.7%

Poland 161 176 171 188 214 14.2%

All Other Europe 373 427 458 524 606 15.7%

North America 1,294 1,477 1,715 1,963 1,902 -3.1%

USA 1,129 1,294 1,511 1,739 1,673 -3.8%

Canada 165 183 204 224 229 2.1%

Rest of World 516 531 607 654 676 3.4%

Australia,
204 206 208 226 225 -0.4%
New Zealand &
Other Oceania
Other Areas 312 325 399 427 450 5.4%

Total Overseas 8,036 8,742 9,023 9,609 9,674 0.7%

Northern Ireland 1,492 1,358 1,315 1,338 1,277 -4.6%

Total out-of-state 9,528 10,100 10,338 10,947 10,951 -

Domestic trips1,2 9,125 9,359 9,626 10,919 11,621 6.4%

Source: CSO/Fáilte Ireland/TSB, NISRA

1.
2.
2015 domestic data revised due to new methodological approach by CSO, August 2016
2016 domestic data revised by CSO, December 2017
3
 How much money did they spend?
Research

Revenue (€m) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Change

19 vs 18

Britain 1,017.9 1,109.8 1,046.5 1,024.8 1,022.1 -0.3%

Mainland Europe 1,555.3 1,657.5 1,763.0 1,845.8 1,853.6 0.4%

North America 1,199.7 1,337.4 1,525.5 1,746.7 1,705.7 -2.3%

Other Overseas 492.6 533.3 588.9 599.9 592.5 -1.2%

TOTAL OVERSEAS 4,265.3 4,638.0 4,923.9 5,217.3 5,174.0 -0.8%

Northern Ireland3 338.2 366.9 371.3 394.6 402.0 1.9%

TOTAL OUT-OF-STATE 4,603.5 5,004.9 5,295.2 5,611.9 5,576.0 -0.6%

Carrier receipts4 1,322.0 1,487.0 1,611.0 1,725.0 1,766.0 2.4%

Overseas same-day visits 38.0 48.0 53.0 47.0 44.0 -6.4%

TOTAL
FOREIGN EXCHANGE 5,963.5 6,539.9 6,959.2 7,383.9 7,386.0 -
EARNINGS

Domestic trips5,6 1,725.3 1,797.7 1,879.1 2,006.0 2,146.6 7.0%

TOTAL TOURISM 1.5%

7,688.8 8,337.6 8,838.3 9,389.9 9,532.6
REVENUE

TOURISM REVENUE
EXCLUDING CARRIER 6,366.8 6,850.6 7,227.3 7,664.9 7,766.6 1.3%
RECEIPTS

Source: CSO/Fáilte Ireland/TSB NISRA/Central Bank of Ireland

Revenue - some useful figures

PER DIEMS spend per person per day 2019 Some Useful Figures

Overseas tourists €72 Every €1m of tourist

expenditure helps to
support 27 tourism jobs.
Overseas
holidaymakers €96

Domestic overnight 1,000 additional overseas

trips €74 tourists support 20 jobs
in the tourism industry.

For every euro

spent on tourism
(domestic and overseas),
23c is generated in tax.

3. 2015 Revised by NISRA 2016

4.
5.
6.
2016
2015
2016
revised by CSO December 2018
domestic data revised due to new methodological approach by CSO, August 2016
domestic data revised by CSO, December 2017
4
 Where did tourists go in 2019?
REGIONAL PERFORMANCE 2019
Research
Border

Market Numbers Revenue

(000’s) (€m)
Britain 308 97
Mainland 246 75
Europe
North 149 64
America
Other 65 22
Areas
All 768 259
Overseas
Northern 597 152
Ireland Mid East / Midlands
Domestic 1,189 200 Numbers Revenue
Market
(000’s) (€m)
West
Britain 411 117
Market Numbers Revenue
(000’s) (€m) Mainland 335 136
Britain 342 112 Europe
Mainland North 153 68
812 238 America
Europe
North 647 264 Other
America 55 28
Areas
Other 142 39 All 954 348
Areas
Overseas
All 1,943 653
Overseas Northern 170 52
Northern Ireland
113 48
Ireland Domestic 1,513 240
Domestic 1,848 370

Mid West

Market Numbers Revenue

(000’s) (€m)
Dublin
Britain 378 107
Mainland Market Numbers Revenue
456 122 (000’s) (€m)
Europe
North 522 212 Britain 1,922 349
America
Mainland 2,638 811
Other 75 31 Europe
Areas
All North 1,554 696
1,432 472 America
Overseas
Northern 23 8 Other 531 355
Ireland Areas
Domestic 1,197 217 All 6,644 2,210
Overseas
Northern 283 95
Ireland
South West South East 1,763 296
Domestic
Market Numbers Revenue Numbers Revenue
(000’s) (€m) Market
(000’s) (€m)
Britain 541 166 Britain 274 75
Mainland 877 371 Mainland
Europe 320 100
Europe
North 751 335 North 272 66
America America
Other Other 79 20
166 98 Source:
Areas Areas
All All Overseas – Fáilte Ireland estimates
2,335 970 945 261
Overseas Overseas based on Survey of Travellers,
Northern Northern 53 21 Northern Ireland – NISRA,
38 25
Ireland Ireland Domestic – CSO Household Survey
Domestic 2,316 511 Domestic 1,795 312

*
NUTS 3 Region County NUTS 3 Region County NUTS 3 Region County
Dublin Dublin South East Carlow West Galway
Kilkenny Mayo
Waterford Roscommon
Mid East/ Kildare
Wexford
Midlands Louth
Border Cavan
Laois South West Cork Donegal
Longford Leitrim
Kerry
Meath Monaghan
Offaly Sligo
Westmeath Mid West Clare
Wicklow
Limerick
Tipperary

* As defined by Eurostat

5
 Overseas Tourists 2019
Research

Breakdown of spend in Ireland (%)

Mainland North Rest of

Total Britain
Europe America World

Bed & Board 29% 28% 32% 28% 26%

Other food & drink 37% 42% 36% 36% 36%

Sightseeing/entertainment 6% 5% 6% 6% 7%

Internal transport 13% 13% 13% 15% 12%

Shopping 13% 11% 11% 14% 17%

Miscellaneous 1% 1% 1% 1% 2%

Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Survey of Overseas Travellers

When did they arrive? (%)

Mainland North Rest

TOTAL Britain
Europe America of World
January-March 19% January-March 21% January-March 19% January-March 15% January-March 17%

April 9% April 9% April 9% April 8% April 7%

May 9% May 9% May 9% May 11% May 9%

June 10% June 8% June 10% June 12% June 11%

July 11% July 9% July 11% July 12% July 13%

August 11% August 10% August 11% August 12% August 12%

September 9% September 8% September 9% September 10% September 10%

October- 22% October- 25% October- 22% October- 20% October- 22%
December December December December December

Source: Fáilte Ireland estimates based on CSO

How did they arrive/depart? (%)

TOTALS Mainland North Rest

Britain
Europe America of World
Air Air Air Air Air

From Britain 34% From Britain 75% From Britain 5% From Britain 18% From Britain 31%

From 42% From From From From

2% 88% 27% 31%
Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe
Transatlantic 11% Transatlantic 2% Transatlantic 2% Transatlantic 51% Transatlantic 2%

Asia/Middle East 2% Asia/Middle East * Asia/Middle East * Asia/Middle East * Asia/Middle East 27%

Sea Sea Sea Sea Sea

From Britain 7% From Britain 15% From Britain 2% From Britain 2% From Britain 5%

From 1% From From From From

* 2% * *
Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe Mainland Europe
Via Northern 3% Via Northern Via Northern Via Northern Via Northern
6% 1% 2% 4%
Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland Ireland
Source: CSO (* indicates less than 0.5 percent)

6
 Overseas Tourists 2019
Research

Where did they stay?

Accommodation Nights % Mainland North Rest of

Total Britain
Europe America World

Hotels 21% 23% 17% 38% 9%

Guesthouses/B&Bs 8% 6% 9% 13% 4%

Self-catering 21% 11% 19% 13% 46%

Caravan & camping * * 1% * -

Hostels 4% 2% 5% 3% 4%

Friends/relatives 25% 46% 21% 18% 20%

Other 21% 12% 28% 15% 17%

Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Survey of Overseas Travellers

Nights (Million) 2019 71.9 16.7 30.4 15.7 9.1

Source: CSO and NISRA

(* indicates less than 0.5 percent)

What activities did they engage in? (000’s)

Hiking/ Cycling Golf Equestrian Angling

cross country
walking
Cycling Golf Angling Equestrian
2,392 361 237 112 98
Source: Fáilte Ireland estimates based on Survey of Overseas Travellers

What was their main reason for visiting Ireland?

Mainland North Rest of

(000's) Total Britain
Europe America World

Holiday 5,237 1,378 2,109 1,411 339

Visit Friends/Relatives 2,709 1,484 727 288 210

Business 1,317 577 532 115 92

Other 411 48 240 88 34

Source: CSO and NISRA

7
Overseas Holidaymakers 20197
Research

What was the total number of holidaymakers in 2019?

2018? (000’s)

Britain

2,091 2,109
Mainland
1,871 Europe
1,699 1,468 1,411
1,612 North
1,317
1,423 1,378 America
1,372
1,254 1,246
Rest of
1,041 World
926

288 325 339

243 242

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Source: CSO and NISRA

Sources of information for choosing/planning a holiday in Ireland (%)

71%

51% Choosing
46%
Planning
36%
25%
20%
10% 14%

Travel Agents Guide Books Friends and Family Internet

Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Experience Port Survey 2019

How did they arrange their holiday? (%)

Package*

Independent
26%
14%
8% 11%
4%

96% 92% 74% 89% 86%

Britain Mainland Europe North America Rest of World Total

* Prepaid an inclusive price for fares to/from Ireland and at least one other element of the holiday.
Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Survey of Overseas Travellers

7. Holidaymakers in this section are defined as tourists who stated that their primary purpose for visiting Ireland was a holiday.

8
 Overseas Holidaymakers 20197
Research

What were the characteristics of holidaymakers to Ireland? (%)

Experience Party
Use of Car Age Social Class
of Ireland Competition

First Visit 69% Car Brought 7% Under 25 years 20% Mgr/Prof (AB) 24% Alone 21%

25-34 years 26% White Collar (C1) 65% Couple 39%

Repeat 30% Car Hired 32%
35-44 years 11% Skilled Worker (C2) 8% Family 19%
Irish Born 1% Car Not Used 61% Unskilled Worker
45+ years 42% 2% Other Adult Group 20%
(DE)

Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Survey of Overseas Travellers

Importance and rating of destination issues

among overseas holidaymakers (%)

91%
Beautiful scenery
96%

89%
Plenty of things to see and do
96%

84%
Interesting history and culture
94%

84%
Good range of natural attractions
93%

83%
Friendly, hospitable people
99%

83%
Safe and secure destination
98%

82%
Natural, unspoilt environment
91%

79%
Attractive cities and towns
92%

76%
Easy and relaxed pace of life
94%

75%
Ease of access
91%

56%
Suitable for touring
90%

Source: Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Experience Port Survey 2019

■ What factors
are important to
holidaymakers when
considering Ireland
for their holiday

■ Holidaymakers’
satisfaction with
aspects of their
experience
of Ireland

7. Holidaymakers in this section are defined as tourists who stated that their primary purpose for visiting Ireland was a holiday.

9
 Domestic Tourism in 20198
Research

Domestic trips (000s) by purpose of travel 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Holiday trips 4,658 4,870 4,886 5,323 5,819

- Long (4+ nights) 1,078 1,144 962 998 1,152

- Short (1-3 nights) 3,580 3,726 3,924 4,326 4,666

Visiting friends/relatives trips 2,921 3,045 3,096 3,759 3,847

Business trips 407 431 426 473 551

Other trips 1,138 1,014 1,218 1,364 1,404

TOTAL TRIPS 9,125 9,359 9,626 10,919 11,621

Source: CSO Household Travel Surveys 2015-2019

Domestic expenditure
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
(€mn) by purpose of travel

Holiday trips 1,070.4 1,135.8 1,129.2 1,232.6 1,335.9

- Long (4+ nights) 394.2 420.7 349.5 392.4 414.1

- Short (1-3 nights) 676.2 715.0 779.7 840.2 921.8

Visiting friends/relatives trips 296.5 297.0 353.1 352.9 371.8

Business trips 98.0 106.3 123.3 116.9 124.9

Other trips 260.4 258.6 273.4 303.6 314.1

TOTAL TRIPS 1,725.3 1,797.7 1,879.1 2,006.0 2,146.6

Source: CSO Household Travel Surveys 2015-2019

Accommodation
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
bednights domestic
holidaymakers (%)

Hotels 35 36 37 37 36

Guesthouse/B&Bs 4 4 4 3 4

Caravan/camping 7 13 14 10 11

Self-catering 22 20 20 19 17

Holiday home 19 13 11 21 16

Friends/relatives 10 13 11 9 13

Other 3 2 2 1 3
Source: CSO Household Travel Surveys 2015-2019

8. 2015 domestic data revised due to new methodological approach by CSO, August 2016

10
Domestic Tourism in 2019

Seasonality of holidaymakers (%) 2019 by length of stay

1-3 Nights

4+ Nights

19 5 25 24 33 60 23 11

Source: CSO Household Travel Survey 2019

Activities engaged in by domestic holidaymakers (%)

46% 27% 26%

Hiking/ Houses/ National
Walking Castles Parks

23% 18% 18% 14%

Gardens Attending Heritage/ Visits
a Festival/ Interpretive to
Event Centres Spas

13% 8% 6%
Museums/ Watersports Attending
Art (excluding a Sporting
Galleries swimming) Event

5% 5% 4% 2%
Cycling Golf Angling Attending
Horse
Racing

Source: Failte Ireland Domestic Tourism Tracker 2019 Qtr2 to Qtr4

11
 The Tourism Product
Research

Accommodation in 2019

Premises Rooms Room Occupancy %

823 Hotels 60,152 73%

155 Guesthouses 2,108 69%

925 Bed and Breakfasts 3,923 44%

Premises/Units/Pitches Beds Bed Occupancy %

301 Welcome Standard9 (premises) 12,088 n/a

86 Hostels (premises) 7,324 65%

2,135 Self-Catering (units) 11,479 38%

6,553 Caravan & camping (pitches) 30,317 31%

Source: Capita Source: Fáilte Ireland Accommodation Survey

Attendance at popular visitor attractions in Ireland 2019

Top Fee-Charging Attractions Top Free Attractions

Name of Attraction County Visits Name of Attraction County Visits

Guinness Storehouse Dublin 1,700,000 Castletown House Parklands Kildare 965,632

Cliffs of Moher
Clare 1,600,000 Kilkenny Castle Parklands Kilkenny 905,642
Visitor Experience

Dublin Zoo Dublin 1,283,424 National Gallery of Ireland Dublin 761,469

Book of Kells Glendalough Monument &

Dublin 1,114,410 Wicklow 732,362
Site

Tayto Park Meath 720,000 National Botanic Gardens Dublin 684,561

National Museum of Ireland -

St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin 628,000 Dublin 505,420
Archaeology

Kylemore Abbey & Gardens Galway 560,000 Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin 503,904

Powerscourt House, Gardens

Wicklow 487,876 Doneraile Park Cork 490,000
& Waterfall

Fota Wildlife Park Cork 462,047 Farmleigh House & Estate Dublin 482,925

Battle of the Boyne/Oldbridge

Blarney Castle & Gardens Cork 460,000 Meath 427,148
Estate

9. Excludes Marinas

12