Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach to provide tourism figures for both domestic travel by Irish residents and inward travel into Ireland by non-Irish residents since 2015, in tabular form, broken down by county. [21959/25]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) collects data on tourists in Ireland through two surveys. The Household Travel Survey collects data from Irish residents travelling in Ireland (i.e. domestic tourism) while the Passenger Survey collects data from overseas residents.

Table 1 presents data on the main county visited by Irish residents for domestic travel. The figures reflect trips where the county was the primary destination.

The CSO does not collect data on the main county visited by non-Irish residents. As a result, there is no equivalent breakdown of county-level destinations for non-Irish residents.

Table 2 provides information on overnight visits to Ireland by non-Irish residents. Figures for non-Irish residents in 2023 and 2024 should be regarded as part of a new and separate statistical series, rather than a direct continuation of the previous method of data collection. This is due to significant changes in sampling methodology and data collection methods introduced from 2023 onwards. As, such these figures are not directly comparable with earlier data and should be interpreted with caution when assessing trends over time.

Table 1: Main County Visited by Domestic Residents for Overnight Trips (000s), 2015-2024

Source: Household Travel Survey - Central Statistics Office, Ireland.

[Note 1] Same-day trips are not included in these figures

Table 2: Overnight Non-Irish Visitors (000s), 2015-2024

Source: Passenger Card Inquiry & Passenger Survey - Central Statistics Office, Central Statistics Office, Ireland.

[Note 1] Non-Irish trip figures based on Passenger Card Inquiry 2015 until 2019; Passenger Survey from 2023 onwards.