Although Killarney appeared to buck the trend, with local businesses reporting a very busy period during the Christmas in Killarney festival and throughout the holiday season, due to a huge surge in the domestic short-break market, the Central Statistics Office has revealed that, nationally, foreign visitor expenditure decreased significantly in December.

Visitors expenditure in Ireland – excluding fares – was €328.6 million, which was a decrease of 20.4 per cent compared with December 2023.
The most important tourism market, in terms of revenue generated was Europe, with visitors from Continental Europe accounting for 40.9 per cent of all visitor expenditure.
This was followed by United States of America and Canada (27.4%), Great Britain (22.5%), and the rest of the world (9.3%).
Key findings included:
- Some 390,700 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in December 2024, a decrease of 12.2 per cent compared with December 2023.
- The most frequent reason for travelling to Ireland was to visit family or friends (47.2 per cent).
- The visitors stayed a total of 3.9 million nights in the country, a drop of 14.4 per cent when compared with December 2023.
- The average length of stay for foreign resident overnight visitors was 9.9 nights, down from an average of 10.1 nights in December 2023.
Gregg Patrick, of the CSO Tourism and Travel Division, noted that more visitors stayed in their own property or with family or friends (55.0%) than in any other accommodation type, and the typical visit lasted 9.9 nights.
The Inbound Tourism series estimates the number of overseas foreign resident visits to Ireland and the value of these visits to Ireland’s tourism industry. The series is based on the CSO passenger survey carried out at Irish airports and seaports.
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