DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland saw a notable increase in foreign visitors in May 2024, with 622,300 travelers arriving there, marking an 8.5 percent rise compared to the same month last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The largest group of visitors came from Britain, making up 34.9 percent of the total, followed by the United States at 20.2 percent, and Germany at 7.4 percent. Despite the increased number of visitors, the total number of nights spent in the country by these tourists slightly decreased by 0.3 percent to 4,462,100 nights.

Most visitors traveled to Ireland for holidays or leisure, accounting for 45.1% of the trips. The total expenditure by these visitors reached 810.6 million euros, reflecting a significant 29 percent increase from May 2023. This spending surge is attributed to higher travel costs, accommodation, and daily expenses.

Gregg Patrick, a statistician in the CSO's tourism and travel division, highlighted the key figures: "The results show that 622,300 foreign visitors departed Ireland on overseas routes in May 2024, an increase of 8.5 percent compared with May 2023. Their most frequent reason for their journey was for holiday or leisure purposes."

Visitors typically stayed for about 7.2 nights and spent an average of 1,303 euros per visit. This includes 334 euros on fares, 51 euros on prepayments, 437 euros on accommodation, and 480 euros on daily expenses. This is an increase from the previous year's average of 1,096 euros.

Breaking down the visitor demographics, British tourists were the most significant group, with 217,200 visitors. The United States followed with 125,400 visitors, and Germany with 46,300 visitors. These proportions are consistent with the previous year's figures.

Foreign visitors collectively spent a total of 4,462,100 nights in Ireland. European visitors, excluding those from Britain, spent the most nights, accounting for 1,669,100 nights, or 37.4 percent of the total. Visitors from the United States and Canada followed, spending 1,248,800 nights (28.0 percent). British visitors accounted for 1,041,300 nights (23.3 percent), while visitors from other regions spent 502,800 nights (11.3 percent).

In May 2024, a total of 2,057,800 passengers departed Ireland on overseas routes, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to May 2023. Of these, 61 percent were Irish residents traveling for tourism or other purposes.

Another 8.8 percent were same-day visitors, including Northern Ireland residents, foreign resident transfer passengers, and other foreign resident same-day visitors. Foreign resident overnight visitors made up 30.2 percent of the departing passengers, totaling 622,300 visitors.