Tourism spending falls 16% in September 

This is despite a rise in the number of foreign visitors here when compared to the same month last year

Tourist numbers to Ireland have seen significant declines over the last year.

Despite a recovery in the number of tourists travelling to Ireland last month, the amount of money spent by visitors here fell by 16% with people also opting to spend less time in the country, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The data shows that 604,500 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland during September which is an increase of 5% compared to the same month last year. However, tourist numbers to Ireland have seen significant declines over the last year.

Since September 2024, the number of tourists arriving into Ireland each month has declined relative to the same period a year prior. The declines were more significant during the first few months of this year but there were still declines during the peak summer months.

August bucked this trend with a 1% year-on-year increase in the number of visitors.

The CSO data shows that visitors spent over €570m on their trips to Ireland, excluding fares, last month, down 16% when compared with September 2024. The average cost of their trips, excluding fares, last month was €944 down from €1,171 last year.

The average visitor spent €405 on accommodation, €486 on day-to-day expenses, and €53 on prepayments which includes items such as car hire, and pre-booked tickets. The average fare cost €344.

The average length of their stay also declined to 7.1 nights from an average of 7.8 nights in September last year.

Over 604,000 foreign visitors to Ireland in September 2025, spending €570 millionhttps://t.co/3H8YETgHeL#CSOIreland #Ireland #Tourism #Travel #Holidays #LoveIreland #OverseasTravel #AirAndSeaTravel #Aviation pic.twitter.com/lcoc9jnqYo

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) October 29, 2025

Of the total number of tourists to Ireland last month, the highest proportion, 36.1% or 218,400, came from Britain, while the US accounted for 24.8% or 149,600. The next highest proportion came from Germany at 7.1% or 42,900.

Visitors from Britain increased by 15% year-on-year while the number of visitors from the US grew by 5.5%. Visitors from Germany fell by nearly 11%.

The most common reason for travelling here was for holiday, 43%, with visiting family and friends, cited by 30.8%, being the next most common reason. A further 15.4% of visitors had come for business or work-related reasons.