Tourism stats show Ireland's most popular county for staycations
Dublin was the most popular destination as the number of people opting for staycations in Ireland increased by almost 16 per cent last year, according to new figures.
Irish residents treated themselves to overnight trips in other counties more than 16.5 million times during 2024, representing an increase of almost 2.3 million compared to the year before.
Dublin was the primary destination for around 17 per cent of these staycations, with staycationers from other counties visiting the capital on 2.8 million occasions.
This was followed by Cork, which was the primary destination of 1.8 million staycations last year, seeing a rise of just over seven per cent compared to 2023.
Galway was third on the list, with the City of the Tribes attracting visitors from around Ireland on more than 1.4 million occasions in 2024, increasing by nearly 18 per cent and leapfrogging Kerry on the list.
Meath was bottom of the pile when it came to Irish residents choosing a destination for overnight visits, attracting visitors on just 231,000 occasions last year. It was followed by neighbouring Westmeath at 266,000.
Tipperary was next from the bottom of the list, recording around 372,000 overnight stays by Irish residents.
The figures, compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), were published by Minister of State Mary Butler in response to a parliamentary question from Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan.
She also revealed that overnight visits by non-Irish visitors increased by just over five per cent last year to almost 6.6 million compared to nearly 6.3 million in 2023. This data was based on passenger surveys conducted during the relevant years.
Other popular counties for staycations on the list included Clare, which welcomed around 810,000 Irish visitors last year, while Donegal had 867,000.
Kerry was the main destination for 1,360,000 Irish visitors in 2024, and Limerick was the location of choice for around 592,000.
Kilkenny was visited 488,000 times, according to the statistics, while Wexford proved very popular, attracting visitors from other counties on 962,000 occasions.
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