Numbers of overseas travellers to Ireland lagging behind pre-pandemic levels
By Cate McCurry, PA
The number of people from overseas travelling to Ireland is still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, with 12% fewer people arriving into the Republic, new figures show.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Air and Sea Travel Statistics for the month of June, which shows that more than 1,703,200 passengers arrived in Ireland on overseas routes.
This compares with 160,000 arrivals in June 2021, representing an eleven-fold increase.
Some 1,605,700 passengers arrived by air and 97,500 by sea, figures show.
Overseas arrivals 12% fewer than pre-pandemichttps://t.co/F2NRx47ija #CSOIreland #Ireland #Tourism #Travel #Holidays #LoveIreland #OverseasTravel #AirAndSeaTravel pic.twitter.com/eZfB1OsO6p
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) July 29, 2022
More people travelled from Great Britain than any other country, with 530,600 arriving into Ireland.
Statistician Gregg Patrick said: “The latest Air and Sea Travel Statistics show 1,703,200 overseas passengers arrived in Ireland in June 2022.
“This shows a dramatic recovery compared to June 2021, when 160,000 overseas passengers arrived and an even more dramatic recovery compared to June 2020, when just 57,100 overseas passengers arrived.
“However, overseas arrivals remain significantly lower, at 12 per cent, than pre-pandemic June 2019, when 1,941,100 overseas passengers arrived.
“The recovery is seen in both modes of travel, air and sea, although the recovery in air travel is most dramatic with a 12-fold increase compared to June 2021.”
The recovery is also spread across all major routes, with transatlantic traffic up most in relative terms with 19 transatlantic passengers arriving in June 2022 for every one in June 2021.
Among the continental routes, Spanish routes were the busiest, with 250,800 passengers arriving on these routes, a more than 17-fold increase compared to June 2021.
“However, in overall terms, Great Britain remained the most important departure country for overseas travellers to Ireland, with 530,600 passengers arriving on air and sea routes from Great Britain, compared to just 57,700 in June 2021,” Mr Patrick said.
