THERE was a 10 per cent drop in the number of foreign visitors to Ireland in May compared to the same month the previous year.
New figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week show Ireland welcomed 560,500 foreign visitors in May 2025.
This is a significant drop on the 622, 300 visitors to Ireland in May 2024.
The number of foreign visitors to Ireland in May 2025 dropped by 10 per cent on the previous year (Pic: Rolling News)“The results show that 560,500 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2025, down 10 per cent compared with May 2024 and by 2 per cent compared with May 2023,” Gregg Patrick, Statistician in the CSO’s Tourism and Travel Division, said as the results were released.
“In May 2025, the greatest number of visitors came from Great Britain (35%), followed by Continental Europe (31%), North America (29%) and the Rest of the World (4%),” he added.
“However, compared with May 2024, visitors from Great Britain declined 9%, visitors from Continental Europe decreased by 21%, and visitors from the Rest of the World fell by 38%,” he explained
The majority of visitors were in Ireland for a holdiday“In contrast, visitors from North America were up 11%.”
In May 2025 the average length of stay in Ireland for foreign resident overnight visitors was 7.3 nights, up from an average of 7.2 nights in May 2024, and down from 7.8 nights in May 2023.
The visitors spent €477m on their trips, which is down 21 per cent compared with May 2024.
The most frequent reason visitors had travelled to Ireland was for a holiday, the figures reveal.
“The most frequent reason for the visitors’ journey was for holiday or leisure (43%),” Mr Patrick said.
“Their second most frequent reason was to visit friends or relatives (31%).
“More of the visitors stayed in a hotel (47%) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical visit lasted 7.3 nights.”
