Spain Once Again Proves to be Most Popular Destination for Irish Tourists

Spain Once Again Proves to be Most Popular Destination for Irish Tourists

Its no wonder Spain continues to be the best

destination in the world.

There’s an old – and bad – joke that says a holiday isn’t a holiday when the Irish go on holiday to the UK. It is somewhat accurate however. The data from the Central Statistics Office in Ireland showed that the UK was the most popular destination for the Irish last year, with around 2.4 million trips between the two countries.

Most of these trips could be considered to be related to work or family though, and aren’t necessarily holidays. This is the line that the CSO is giving at least, and we’re going to agree with them given that the data also shows 1.5 million of the 7.6 million trips the Irish took abroad last year were to Spain.

If one were to compare the total expenditure of Irish tourists in 2016, it becomes obvious that Spain is the most popular holiday destination and not the UK. Around €993 million was spent in the UK by the Irish across their 2.4 million trips.

On the other hand, around €1.4 billion was spent in Spain from 1.5 million trips. This shows that the Irish are definitely choosing to spend longer (and spend more) in Spain compared to the UK.

All of this data was further backed up by a recent AA poll, which surveyed 7,000 Irish people on their tourism and holiday preferences. The poll showed Spain was the most popular overseas destination for one-in-five tourists, with the USA, Portugal, France, and Italy following behind.

It’s worth noting that Spain has been the top of this particular poll for the past five years.

The excellent weather and the superb beaches and landscape of Spain has been one of the main attractions for the Irish. The most appealing factor, however, could be the affordability of the Costas.

The poll from the AA discovered many Irish under-25s are more cost-conscious as far as travel goes. The affordability and value for money Spain has makes it popular with those in the Emerald Isle.

Even though more people are going abroad for their holiday than before, it’s still obvious that holidays are treated as luxuries. Young people in particular regard them as luxuries because they are less secure financially.

Even though Spain was the ideal choice for 25% of the people polled, “staycationing” in Ireland pulled in 15% of the vote – and second place. We suspect that Ireland will stay in second place until Cork can generate as much bright sunshine as Marbella. Which isn’t likely to happen any time soon.