The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released its Inbound Tourism bulletin on 25 June 2026, showing that 661,500 foreign visitors completed trips to Ireland in May — an 18 % jump on the same month last year and 6 % above pre-pandemic 2024 levels. International travellers clocked up 4.8 million overnight stays and spent an estimated €608 million excluding air and ferry fares. Great Britain continued to top the league table, supplying 36 % of visitors, but Continental Europe posted the fastest growth at 25 %.
![Irish tourism rebounds: CSO reports 661,500 foreign arrivals and €608 m spend in May]()
Travellers and mobility planners who need to confirm visa requirements or arrange Irish entry permits quickly can streamline the process through VisaHQ. The company’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers real-time guidance for more than 200 nationalities and can file visa applications electronically, a timesaver for businesses juggling last-minute project travel during the current tourism surge.
North America delivered a smaller 5 % increase in absolute numbers yet generated 40 % of total spend, underlining the value of long-haul markets for hotels and meetings venues. The Rest-of-World segment — including the Middle East and Asia-Pacific — surged by 36 %, helped by new Qatar Airways capacity and the resumption of Hainan Airlines’ Dublin–Shenzhen service. Business-related trips accounted for roughly one in eight journeys. Industry analysts note that Ireland’s expanding tech and pharma clusters, combined with a mild corporate-tax environment, are driving sustained project travel despite global cost-cutting elsewhere. Tourism Ireland said it will pivot marketing funds toward shoulder-season corporate meetings to spread demand and ease summer pressure on Dublin Airport. For mobility teams the data confirm that accommodation and car-rental markets will remain tight through Q3. Companies are advised to secure hotel blocks early, especially outside the capital where inventory is limited. The figures also bolster the case for employers to expand regional arrival briefings and airport-pickup services as first-time visitors land in record numbers. The CSO will publish June passenger-survey data on 30 July, giving businesses a forward indicator for late-summer travel budgets and expatriate support planning.
Travellers and mobility planners who need to confirm visa requirements or arrange Irish entry permits quickly can streamline the process through VisaHQ. The company’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers real-time guidance for more than 200 nationalities and can file visa applications electronically, a timesaver for businesses juggling last-minute project travel during the current tourism surge.
North America delivered a smaller 5 % increase in absolute numbers yet generated 40 % of total spend, underlining the value of long-haul markets for hotels and meetings venues. The Rest-of-World segment — including the Middle East and Asia-Pacific — surged by 36 %, helped by new Qatar Airways capacity and the resumption of Hainan Airlines’ Dublin–Shenzhen service. Business-related trips accounted for roughly one in eight journeys. Industry analysts note that Ireland’s expanding tech and pharma clusters, combined with a mild corporate-tax environment, are driving sustained project travel despite global cost-cutting elsewhere. Tourism Ireland said it will pivot marketing funds toward shoulder-season corporate meetings to spread demand and ease summer pressure on Dublin Airport. For mobility teams the data confirm that accommodation and car-rental markets will remain tight through Q3. Companies are advised to secure hotel blocks early, especially outside the capital where inventory is limited. The figures also bolster the case for employers to expand regional arrival briefings and airport-pickup services as first-time visitors land in record numbers. The CSO will publish June passenger-survey data on 30 July, giving businesses a forward indicator for late-summer travel budgets and expatriate support planning.
