Number of tourist bed nights rose sharply last year but still lag pre-covid levels, new figures show

The number of guest nights in Cork last year rose by 18% to 95,475 — almost 15,000 more than in 2022 but remains about 50,000 below the 2019 peak of over 145,000. File picture: Denis Scannell. 

Almost 6.5 million guest nights were booked over four of the leading online booking platforms for short-term tourist accommodation in Ireland last year.

Figures published by the European Commission show a total of 6.47 million guest nights were reserved by holidaymakers through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, or Tripadvisor in 2023 — up 17% over the previous year.