Increase of 1.8% in overseas visitor numbers to Ireland in 2019

By Breda Graham

The total number of trips to Ireland made by overseas visitors in 2019 saw an increase of 1.8% on 2018, according to CSO figures released today.

Ireland welcomed 10,807,500 people from the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and other countries to its shores last year.

Trips made to Ireland by residents of the UK increased by 0.8% in 2019 to 3,787,700 while trips by residents of European countries excluding the UK increased by 2.6% to 3,910,200.

Trips by residents of USA and Canada to Ireland increased by 1.2% to 2,412,500 while trips to Ireland from other countries increased by 5.5% to 697,200.

Kilkenny Castle was the most visited OPW attraction in 2018 and regularly tops the poll for most visited free-to-enter attractions in the county.

In December of last year, the total number of trips to Ireland rose 5.5% to 779,200 compared to that of 2018.

There was also an increase of 6.5% in the number of overseas trips made by Irish residents in 2019 to over 8.8 million.
The total number of overseas trips made by Irish residents during December 2019, however, decreased by 1.5% to 564,500.