Irish residents took 2.3 million domestic overnight trips in Q1 this year, an increase of 7% when compared with the same period in 2020 – the last quarter before the onset of the pandemic, according to CSO data.

Total expenditure on domestic overnight trips amounted to €471 million, with those on holidays spending €292 million of this, while those visiting friends or relatives spent €83 million.

There were 78,000 domestic overnight business trips taken, which was down 43% on the same period in 2020.

There were almost 1.1 million outbound overnight trips taken by Irish residents, which represented a decrease of 31% when compared with Q1 2020.

The CSO’s Household Travel Survey for Q1 this year shows that the number of outbound overnight trips to European countries was down 23%, while trips to all other outbound destinations were 69% lower than in the pre-pandemic period in Q1 2020.

Tourism and travel statistician Brendan Curtin said: “When compared with the same period in 2021, the data demonstrates the strong recovery in travel as COVID-19 restrictions lessen.

“There were 2,308,000 domestic overnight trips taken in the first quarter of 2022, which was more than eight times the number of trips taken in quarter 1 of 2021 (278,000).

Outbound

“The number of outbound overnight trips increased to 1,089,000 in Q1 2022, from 108,000 in Q1 2021,” he said. 

While domestic overnight holiday trips and visits to friends or relatives have returned to levels seen in Q1 2020, domestic business trips are still down 43% on the pre-pandemic period in Q1 2020.

For outbound travel, the number of overnight trips taken by Irish residents in Q1 2022 remains significantly down on Q1 2020 (-31%), with expenditure down by almost half (46%). 

The number of outbound overnight trips to European countries in Q1 2022 was down 23%, while trips to all other outbound destinations were 69% lower than in the pre-pandemic period in quarter 1 2020, the data shows.