Irish abroad will spend more travelling home than on seasonal gifts

More than one million Irish people are set to take planes, trains and automobiles to get home for Christmas, with the majority spending more on travel than on seasonal gifts for friends and family.

Record numbers will travel from different parts of the world to be with their family on Christmas day.

The average Irish adult will travel 814 kilometres to get home — around the distance from Dublin to Paris, which is significantly farther than the average European who will travel 500 km.

The research from Mastercard reveals that the Irish will spend €388 on average travelling home, more than double the €163 they will spend on gifts. Roads, trains and planes are expected to be at their busiest on Christmas Eve — the most popular day to travel back for Christmas.

While parents are the most popular people to go back to see, a quarter (24%) say they would go the distance to see their pet.

More than one in three (35%) book their journey home at least three months in advance, though 10% of last-minute planners book within just a few days of travelling.

The average traveller sorts their travelling arrangements 63 days before Christmas, with 81% having at least one car or bus journey on the way and a fifth of respondents needing to take a train.

“We live at a time where people travel more and build careers and lives in new cities and countries around the world, but Christmas is still a time for getting home to be with family,” said Sonya Geelon, country manager for Mastercard Ireland.

“Christmas has always been a major spending occasion, but with more and more people living away from their hometowns it has become one of the biggest travel occasions of the year too."