30/8/2013: Some Good Stats on Travel to Ireland: July 2013

Some decent numbers on travel to Ireland: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/tourismtravel/2013/overseastravelmayjuly2013.pdf

Summary table:

Particularly encouraging are the following data points:

1. May-July figures are up 5.24% on same period 2011, and this is in excess of January-July increase of 4.60%. The significance here is that in May-July we had fewer EU Presidency activities in Ireland, thus trips to Ireland during this period are more likely reflective of tourism, rather than of bureaucravel from Brussels.
2. North American visits are up solidly +16.5% for May-July 2013 on same period 2011 and +13.4% for January-July 2013 on same period in 2011.
3. Trips to Ireland from areas other then EU, Other Europe, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Other Oceania are up in May-July on 2011 and 2012 levels, though they are still slightly down for H1 2013 compared to H1 2013.

12/7/2013: Irish Domestic Travel Stats Aren't Exactly Unexpected

CSO released new data on domestic travel by Irish residents for Q1 2013. Overall, there has been a marked decline in the total number of trips as well as outbound trips (details here: http://cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/tourismtravel/2013/hotra_q12013.pdf).

However, even more revealing are the sub-series for Holiday Trips:

Note: 2013 (e) estimates are based on Q1 2013 data adjusted for effects of normal seasonal variation. Since we have very little data to go by, these are very much indicative of the direction in the series, rather than of actual numbers in terms of absolute declines expected.

Data shows sustained declines in domestic trips undertaken for holiday purposes by Irish residents. Weather effects are of course a factor, but it is worth noting that holiday travel abroad by irish residents also contracted y/y in Q1 2013. In other words, it looks like even disregarding weather conditions, things are grim.

Now, keep in mind that the Government has spent two years now 'actively stimulating' travel sector here. And there have been plenty of noises coming from the tourism sector and Irish officials about alleged boom in Irish families substituting away from vacationing abroad in favor of domestic travel. This substitution is yet to show up. Instead we are facing faster contracting demand for domestic holidays travel, slower declines in outbound travel and an overall decline in all holidays travel...

Something that can be expected in an economy in its fourth recessionary 'dip' since 2007 and with domestic demand down for 17 quarters out of last 25.

1/7/2013: Good Numbers on Trips to Ireland: January-May 2013

Good numbers on trips to Ireland from abroad for January-May 2013:

March-May (3mo) y/y rises were:

• Trips to Ireland from Great Britain + 5.6% (below the overall rate of rise of 8.1%);
• Trips to Ireland from Other Europe + 9.6% (above the overall rate of increase);
• Trips to Ireland from North America + 12.6% (substantially above the overall rate of increase); and
• Trips to Ireland from Other Areas + 3.2% (well below the overall rate of increase)

January-May (5mo) y/y rises were:

• Trips to Ireland from Great Britain + 2.8% (below the overall rate of rise of 6.4%);
• Trips to Ireland from Other Europe + 8.5% (above the overall rate of increase);
• Trips to Ireland from North America + 12.8% (substantially above the overall rate of increase); and
• Trips to Ireland from Other Areas + 4.9% (below the overall rate of increase)

More details here: http://cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/tourismtravel/2013/overseastravelmarmay2013.pdf