North America was the largest market for the Irish tourism sector in the second quarter of 2023.
In April to June, tourism from North America brought in €827 million in revenue, according to figures from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC).
Overall, 1,655,100 tourists came to Ireland over the three-month period, bringing in over €1.9 billion in revenue.
Those from Continental Europe represented 583,100 of visitors during the same quarter, equating to €574 million in revenue, the greatest number of which came from Germany (131,400 visitors), followed by France (107,200).
Our nearest neighbours were also a key market for the Irish tourism sector, with 617,200 visitors from Britain in Q2 representing €396 million.
The ITIC also supplied a breakdown of the figures for June, showing tourism from North America represented €409 million in respect of 169,100 visitors.
In the same month, 227,800 visitors from Britain spent €156 million here, while 183,400 travellers from Continental Europe broughtt in €574 million for the sector.
The ITIC also supplied figures showing the breakdown of travel through the State's three main airports, with Dublin Airport claiming the bulk of the visits in Q2 with 9.13 million, 3.24 million of which came in June, showing a 1 per cent increase on the same month of 2019, prior to the Covid pandemic.
Meanwhile, Cork Airport welcomed 793,000 visitors in the second quarter, 280,366 of whom came in June, showing no change from the same month in 2019, while Shannon Airport brought in 563,365 tourists, and noted a massive 10 per cent increase on June 2019 to bring their tally for the month to 202,760.
The ITIC noted the second quarter of the year is seen as a key period for tourism, typically accounting for approximately 30 per cent of the sector's annual figures.
The group also looked back at the first quarter of the year, revealing that the value of domestic trips increased to €517 million, up from €502 million during the same period of 2019. In contrast, the value of domestic holidays was down on Q1 of 2019, falling from €303 million to €271 million.
