Robert Besser
02 May 2025

DUBLIN, Ireland: Tourism to Ireland took another hit in March, with the number of overseas visitors falling for the seventh consecutive month. According to new figures from the Central Statistics Office, inbound travel dropped 15 percent compared to the same month last year.

Just 441,200 visitors arrived in Ireland in March 2025, down from 521,800 in March 2024. This brings total overseas arrivals for the first quarter to just over 1.08 million — a 23 percent decline from the 1.4 million who visited during the same period last year. Compared to 2023, the figure is also down seven percent.

"This continues the downward year-on-year trend in foreign visitor numbers first observed in September 2024," said CSO statistician Gregg Patrick. "However, the decrease in March 2025 was less than the decrease in February 2025."

The sharpest drop came from outside Europe and North America, where visitor numbers were down 24 percent year-on-year. Travel from continental Europe fell 17 percent, while North American visits dropped 18 percent.

Britain remained the largest source of overseas travelers in March, contributing 176,100 visitors—a 12 percent drop from the year before. The United States followed with 82,900 visitors, down from 101,400 last year, an 18.2 percent decline.

Irish travel to the United States also saw a steep fall. In March, outbound travel to the U.S. dropped 27 percent compared to the same month in 2024. February numbers were similarly down, with 31,200 Irish visitors to the U.S., 15,400 fewer than a year earlier.

Foreign tourists' spending in Ireland declined in step with visitor numbers. Total spending, excluding airfares, reached 326 million euros in March, a 22 percent year-on-year decline. The average spend per person dropped to 738 euros from 799 euros in March 2024.

Despite the downturn, visitors tended to stay slightly longer. The average stay was 6.5 nights, an increase from 6.0 nights in March last year but still down from 7.4 nights in 2023.

Thirty-six percent of tourists cited holidays as their primary reason for visiting Ireland, and another 35 percent traveled to visit friends or family.