International and domestic travel rebounded sharply towards the end of last year with the numbers significantly up on pre-pandemic times, new data suggests.
According to the latest travel report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) there was a “strong recovery” in travel in 2022 following massive upheaval caused by almost two years of Covid-19 restrictions.
The number of domestic overnight trips taken in the final three months of last year was 16 per cent higher than in the same period in pre-pandemic 2019 while the total number of outbound overnight trips increased by 14 per cent when compared with the same quarter in 2019.
Expenditure also increased with a 26 per cent jump in domestic overnight trips recorded and a climb of 24 per cent for outbound overnight trips when compared with the same period in 2019.
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Looking more broadly at the travel sector, the CSO figures suggest that Irish residents took 13.3 million domestic overnight trips and 8.8 million outbound overnight trips in 2022.
That compares with 11.6 million domestic overnight trips and 9.4 million outbound overnight trips in 2019.
Irish residents spent €2.9 billion on domestic trips in 2022. In 2021 there were 5.7 million domestic overnight trips taken with total expenditure coming in at €1.3 billion.
Half of all domestic overnight trips in 2022 were for holiday purposes while over one-third were to visit friends or relatives.
There were 8.8 million outbound overnight trips taken by Irish residents in 2022 with the total expenditure put at €8.6 billion. These trips accounted for almost 62 million bed nights.
“The data highlights the continued strong recovery in travel by Irish residents in 2022 following the disruption caused by Covid-19 restrictions,” said CSO spokesman Brendan Curtin.
He noted that Irish residents also took 16.2 million domestic same-day visits and 1.3 million outbound same-day visits last year with the costs put at €856 million on domestic visits in 2022 which was “more than double the comparable 2021 figure”.
Irish residents spent €124 million on outbound same-day visits “which was also up significantly on the 2021 spend of €61 million”.
The health of international travel was also highlighted by the daa, the authority that manages both Dublin and Cork’s airports.
Just under 400,000 passengers will travel through Dublin Airport over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Around 198,000 passengers will depart from the airport from Friday to Monday, with around 196,000 passengers due to arrive over the same period.
“The busiest days this weekend will be Friday and Sunday with just over 100,000 passengers going through our terminals each day,” said Dublin Airport Authority spokesman Graeme McQueen. “These are similar numbers to those seen during the recent busy but smooth Easter period.”
He said that people coming and going through the airport this weekend “will experience the many improvements being rolled out in both terminals as part of our Better DUB improvement plan, which includes the provision of more than 400 additional seats, new dedicated family seating areas at departure gates and faster free wifi speeds throughout the airport.”
