Irish people spent just over 14 million nights away on trips within the State in the third quarter of 2024, a 6.6 per cent increase on the same period the previous year, new data shows.
However, detail released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows the average length of domestic trips decreased from 2.9 nights between July, August and September of 2023 to 2.7 nights.
“Holiday trips accounted for the largest share of domestic nights at 55 per cent followed by visits to friends or relatives at 36 per cent, while [those for] business purposes made up 2 per cent of nights spent,” said tourism and travel division statistician Aaron Costello.
Forty per cent of domestic trips involved staying with family or friends, the most popular accommodation option while 30 per cent were in hotels.
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The southern region saw the most visits by Irish people, accounting for 2.2 million breaks. The northern and western region was the least visited area at 1.5 million nights.
In outbound travel, Irish people took 4.2 million overnight trips abroad in the third quarter. This is a 6.2 per cent increase compared with the same period the previous year.
Irish people spent a total of 28.4 million nights on foreign trips, mostly holidays, accounting for 74 per cent of the total, Mr Costello said. Visits to friends and family made up 22 per cent of outward travel, while business related travel made up 2 per cent.
The number of trips abroad in the third quarter of last year also increased compared to 2023, rising to 4,195 trips from 3,950 for the same period the previous year.
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