Number of tourists visiting Ireland in January drops 25% compared to last year

Michael Bolton

Just under 340,000 tourists made a trip to Ireland in January this year, a decrease of 25 per cent compared with January 2024, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Excluding fares, visitors spent €214 million on their trips, down 27.9 per cent compared to the previous year.

The largest contingent of visitors came from Great Britain, with 44.1 per cent of tourists coming from Britain.

Some 12.7 per cent of overseas visitors came from the United States, with 6.4 per cent coming from Spain and Portugal.

52.3 per cent of people who came to Ireland in January were visiting friends and family.

The next most likely reason was for holiday, with 27.2 per cent of the visitors coming for this purpose.

15.2 per cent of people had come for business or work-related reasons.

58.1 per cent of people stayed on their own property or with friends or family, with the average visit lasting 8.4 nights.

1,298,300 engers departed Ireland on overseas routes in January 2025, an increase of 1.3 per cent compared with January 2024.

The majority of departing engers were Irish residents heading outbound for tourism or other purposes.