Irish residents took over 4.6 million outbound trips in Quarter 3 2025

Kenneth Fox

Irish residents took more than 4.6 million outbound trips in Quarter 3 (July, August, September) in 2025, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Outbound overnight travel saw Irish residents take 4.6 million trips in Q3 2025, representing a 10 per cent increase compared to Q3 2024.

The average length of stay on outbound trips decreased from 6.8 nights in Q3 2024 to 6.3 nights in Q3 2025.

Irish residents spent a total of 12.6 million nights on domestic trips in Q3 2025, representing a 10 per cent decline compared with the number of nights spent in Q3 2024.

The most popular domestic region for trips by Irish residents was the Southern region (Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Cork, and Kerry), which accounted for 49 per cent of all trips.

Commenting on the release, Aaron Costello, statistician in the tourism and travel Division, said: “The figures provide information on domestic and outbound travel by Irish residents in July, August, and September (Q3) 2025.

"The number of nights spent on domestic overnight trips taken in Q3 2025 decreased by 10 per cent compared with the same period in 2024.

"Holiday trips accounted for the largest share of domestic nights at 60 per cent, followed by visits to friends or relatives at 29 per cent. Business travel represented 3 per cent of all overnight stays.

The most popular region visited by Irish residents on overnight trips in Q3 2025 was the Southern region (Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Cork, and Kerry), accounting for 2.3 million trips.

The Eastern & Midland region (Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, and Laois) had the fewest number of domestic overnight trips (1.2 million trips).

Irish residents spent a total of 29.1 million nights on outbound trips. The distribution of these nights was led by holiday purposes, accounting for 75 per cent of the total.

Visits to friends or relatives accounted for 18 per cent of the nights, while business-related travel made up 3 per cent.

The total number of outbound trips in Q3 2025 increased, showing a 10 per cent rise compared with the same period in Q3 2024.

The average length of stay for outbound overnight trips was 6.3 nights, versus 6.8 in Q3 of last year.”