Number of tourists visiting Ireland falls by 15% in March

Ellen O'Donoghue

The number of inbound tourists to Ireland fell during March by 15 per cent to 441,200, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office.

This continues a downward trend which has been ongoing since September of 2024.

During March 2024, there were 521,800 visitors to Ireland, bringing the total inbound tourism numbers for the first quarter to over 1.4 million. In the same period this year, there have been just over 1.08 million – a 23 per cent decrease.

It is also down 7 per cent when compared with the same period in 2023.

Gregg Patrick, statistician with the CSO, said these latest figures “continues the downward year-on-year trend in foreign visitor numbers first observed in September 2024”.

“However, the decrease in March 2025 was less than the decrease in February 2025,” he said.

The largest contingent of visitors during the month came from Britain, with 176,100. This is down 12 per cent compared to March 2024.

The next highest was from the US, with 82,900 visitors arriving in Ireland, down 18.2 per cent from 101,400.

Irish visitors to the US were also down significantly, by 27 per cent during March, compared to the same period last year.

In February, just over 31,200 people visited Ireland from the US, ing for 10 per cent of all foreign visitors during the month.

This was down by 15,400 during the same month last year.

However a smaller decline was recorded in January, with 46,600 US visitors to Ireland recorded, down from 50,200 the year prior.

Visitors from continental Europe were down 17 per cent in March, while visitors from North America in general were down 18 per cent and visitors from the rest of the world were down 24 per cent.

Visitors to Ireland spent a combined €326 million on their trips, excluding fares, down 22 per cent year on year.

The average cost of their trips excluding fares in March was €738, whereas the average cost 12 months previously was €799.

The average length of stay for foreign resident overnight visitors was 6.5 nights, up from an average of 6.0 nights in March 2024, and down from 7.4 nights in March 2023.

The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was for a holiday, cited by 36 per cent. The second most frequent reason was to visit friends or relatives, cited by 35 per cent.