The number of passengers leaving Ireland to go abroad has increased by 115 per cent compared to June.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show 428,600 people departed from Ireland last month, while 380,700 passengers arrived, an 138 per cent increase on the previous month.
Compared to July 2020, departure numbers have increased considerably, rising from 227,300 in July last year to 275,400 in the same month of 2021.
Despite this, overseas travel remains far below pre-pandemic levels. In July 2019, almost 2.2 million left Ireland while over 2.2 million people arrived here the same month.
Last month, the majority of arrivals came by air (85.8 per cent) and similar levels were noted among departures (89.6 per cent).
Transatlantic routes, including the United States, made up just 7 per cent of arrivals and 4.3 per cent of departures, while continental routes (Europe) were the busiest, representing 57.2 per cent of arrivals and 67 per cent of departures. Cross-channel routes (UK) were next busiest, accounting for 32.3 per cent of arrivals and 25.8 per cent of departures.
From January to July, 919,800 people arrived in the State while just over 1 million people departed, compared to 3.4 million for both arrivals and departures during the same period of 2020.
Intention
The CSO figures come as a survey by Finder's Travel Index found 33 per cent of Irish adults plan to travel in the next three months.
The figure shows a marginal increase on last month, when 28 per cent said they were planning on getting away.
Domestic plans have largely remained steady, but 17 per cent said they plan on going abroad in the coming months, an increase from 12 per cent in the last survey.
Approximately 9 per cent said they are planning a trip overseas for September, while 5 per cent said October and 4 per cent have plans for November.
