The number of overseas arrivals to Ireland in December of 2022 increased by 89%, compared to the same month in 2021, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Details
According to a statement published on CSO.ie, the number of passengers who arrived in Ireland on overseas routes in December of 2022 increased to over 1,309,500, from 692,900 in December of 2021, with 1,237,000 passengers arriving by air and 72,500 arriving by sea.
A higher number of arriving passengers came via Great Britain than any other country, with 550,600 passengers arriving from Great Britain in the 12th month of 2022.
Statement By Statistician
The statement published on CSO.ie quoted statistician Gregg Patrick as saying, "The latest Air and Sea Travel Statistics show that 1,309,500 passengers arrived in Ireland on overseas routes in December 2022. These passengers, comprising foreign visitors arriving in Ireland and Irish overseas travellers returning home, represent a very substantial increase on December 2021, when 692,900 passengers arrived on overseas routes. The increase is even more substantial when compared with December 2020 when just 164,400 passengers arrived on these routes. However, passenger arrivals remain lower (4.6%) than pre-pandemic December 2019, when 1,372,600 passengers arrived on overseas routes.
"The recovery is seen in both modes of travel (air and sea), although the recovery in air travel is most pronounced, increasing by 92.8% in December 2022 compared with December 2021. The recovery is also spread across all major routes, with transatlantic traffic up most. In relative terms, there were more than two passengers arriving on transatlantic routes in December 2022 for every one passenger in December 2021. Among the continental routes, Spanish routes remain the busiest, with 117,800 passengers arriving on these routes,up 69.7% compared with December 2021.
"However, in overall terms, Great Britain remained the most important departure country for overseas travel to Ireland, with 550,600 passengers arriving on air and sea routes from Great Britain, compared with just 285,400 in December 2021.
"In the year 2022, 17,257,000 passengers arrived in Ireland from overseas. This represents a very substantial increase compared with 2021 when only 4,955,900 passengers arrived in Ireland. However, passenger arrivals in 2022 remain significantly lower (-14.3%) than pre-pandemic 2019, when 20,143,700 passengers arrived on overseas routes."
Read More: Overseas Arrivals To Ireland Increased Year On Year In November
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