Ireland: A 77% Decrease in Tourists Entries In 2020 Due To The Pandemic
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Discover the methodology
14,475,300
... is the number of tourists lost in one year from 2019 to 2020 in the Republic of Ireland due to the negative impact of Covid-19. Indeed, this number goes from 18,771,100 in 2019 down to only 4,295,800 over 2020. This difference represents a decrease of 77.1% in only one year. This number illustrates the dramatic consequences of the pandemic on tourism in Ireland.
Good to know
The data provided for this study concerns the Republic of Ireland only. The numbers variation in the below tables have to be interpreted not only in the context of the pandemic, but also considering the normal seasonality of tourism figures.
Focus on the number of tourists in Ireland during the past year
As in many countries across the world, 2020 has been a terrible year for the tourism industry in the Republic of Ireland. In the below table, we observe that the number of arrivals in Eire decreases dramatically from March 2020 (635,000 entries) to April 2020 (16,100).
This decline of 97.47% can be explained by all the measures taken by the Irish government to stop the pandemic, which resulted in restrictions for foreigners to enter the national territory. However, we can see that the number of arrivals rose in May (+ 75.78%), with a progressive recovery until August 2020. This temporary progress was possible thanks to the easing of restrictions during this period and by the fact that people tend to travel more in the summer season.
| Months | Number of arrivals in Ireland | Growth rate |
|---|---|---|
| Jan.2020 | 1,235,100 | / |
| Feb.2020 | 1,215,100 | - 1.62% |
| Mar.2020 | 635,000 | - 47.74% |
| Apr.2020 | 16,100 | - 97.47% |
| May 2020 | 28,300 | + 75.78% |
| Jun.2020 | 57,100 | + 101.77% |
| Jul.2020 | 227,300 | + 298.08% |
| Aug.2020 | 362,600 | + 59.53% |
| Sep.2020 | 254,400 | - 29.84% |
| Oct.2020 | 160,900 | - 36.75% |
| Nov.2020 | 103,900 | - 35.43% |
Then, starting from August 2020, the number of arrivals is decreasing again (- 29.84%) with the second wave of the virus in Europe and with autumn traditionally being the poorest season for tourism in Ireland.
From which parts of the world did tourists come in 2020?
We observe in the below table that the number of arrivals decreases a lot from 2019 to 2020, no matter from which part of the world. Indeed, the decrease rate of entries per geographical origin does not go below 71.5% (United Arab Emirates)! This rate even goes down to more than 90% for the "other transatlantic" category.
As always, the majority of tourists in Ireland in 2020 came from the United Kingdom, (7,037,200 tourists in 2019 ; 1,747,100 in 2020). A lot of tourists are also coming from Spain: 2,236,200 in 2019 and still 399,500 in 2020 despite the pandemic. It is no surprise to see that the majority of tourists come from the EU and the UK since it is geographically closer to Ireland and easier to travel to with restrictions due to the pandemic.
| Parts of the world | Number of arrivals in 2019 | Proportion (%) | Number of arrivals in 2020 | Proportion (%) | Change rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 7,037,200 | 37.49% | 1,747,100 | 40.67% | - 75.2% |
| Belgium | 230,600 | 1.23% | 57,600 | 1.34% | - 75.0% |
| Germany | 1,169,400 | 6.23% | 243,200 | 5.66% | - 79.2% |
| Spain | 2,236,200 | 11.91% | 399,500 | 9.30% | - 82.1% |
| France | 1,146,600 | 6.11% | 229,700 | 5.35% | - 80.0% |
| Italy | 764,500 | 4.07% | 161,800 | 3.77% | - 78.8% |
| Netherlands | 683,800 | 3.64% | 201,500 | 4.69% | - 70.5% |
| Poland | 467,100 | 2.49% | 196,200 | 4.57% | - 58.0% |
| Portugal | 659,100 | 3.51% | 115,700 | 2.69% | - 82.5% |
| Other EU27 | 1,307,100 | 6.96% | 382,600 | 8.91% | - 70.7% |
| Switzerland | 235,500 | 1.25% | 52,600 | 1.22% | - 77.7% |
| Other Europe | 214,400 | 1.14% | 49,900 | 1.16% | - 76.7% |
| United States | 1,766,100 | 9.41% | 270,200 | 6.29% | - 84.7% |
| Other Transatlantic | 253,600 | 1.35% | 25,200 | 0.59% | - 90.1% |
| United Arab Emirates | 302,100 | 1.61% | 86,000 | 2% | - 71.5% |
| Other Destinations | 297,800 | 1.59% | 77,000 | 1.79% | - 74.2% |
What are the reasons for departures and entries in Ireland?
Te below graph shows the reasons why people traditionally travel to Ireland and why Irish people go overseas. These numbers are from the last quarter of 2019, meaning before the pandemic start. Indeed, those numbers aren't biased by the Covid-19 crisis, and are representative of a "normal" period of time.
Number of overseas trips to Ireland and trips by Irish residents overseas in 2019 (Source: CSO Ireland)
The majority of people are coming to Ireland for holidays, leisure or recreation (1,040,000 travelers over the last quarter of 2019). That's also the principal reason for Irish citizens to leave their country (1,161,000). On the other hand, very few Irish people leave for business (only 216,000). But, almost 400,000 are coming to Ireland for business in the last 3 months of 2019. Indeed, Ireland attracts a lot of companies due to its attractive taxation.
Over the same period of time, nearly 800,000 people came to Ireland to visit friends or relatives. On the other way round, 477,000 Irish are going overseas for the same reason. There is very few people coming in Ireland for another reason that the three listed above (318,000). It's even fewer for Irish people: only 55,000 are going overseas for another reason than holiday, business or to visit a friend/relative.
The two nationalities whose entries into the Republic of Ireland have declined the most
Antoine Fruchard, insurance expert and CEO at Hellosafe.ca
“With all the restrictions going all around the world to stop the pandemic, it was very difficult to travel during the past year. Indeed, the data show that there has been less tourists in 2020 than in 2019 in the Republic of Ireland but also in the rest of the world. This complex situation will stop only when the Covid-19 will be under control. In the meantime, the tourism sector will continue to suffer from all countries' restrictions. We surely hope that 2021 will be better for tourism with the control of the pandemic and the return of the pre-Covid indicators."
Our methodology
This study has been built upon data released by Central Statistics Office Ireland. All of the data set out in this study was collected by the Irish government. We tried, throughout our study, to highlight the principal trends in Ireland regarding the arrivals and departures in the tourism sector main facts and figures. All data must be interpreted in the context of the actual pandemic and explains the discrepancy that may exist regarding previous years' data.
About Hellosafe.ca
Hellosafe.ca is a comparison platform which is shaking up the insurance market – giving you access to the best Canadian insurance deals in less than 30 seconds. Hellosafe.ca is supported and financed by Blue, an Insurtech Venture Capital firm. Blue already owns two leaders in the French insurance comparison market, Réassurez-moi and Coover. These platforms help more than 10 million people with their insurance every year. We have developed a unique comparison technology that gives access to cover details and quotes without customers having to give their phone number or email address. This engine is the result of four years of hard work.
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