The number of visitors coming to Ireland in January fell by 25% on the same time the last year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show, while the amount of money they spent while they were here was also lower.
The CSO said that 338,900 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in January, down from 451,900 in January of last year.
These visitors spent 2.8 million nights in Ireland, a drop of 25.7% compared with the same month in 2024, the CSO said.
They spent €214m on their trips, a decrease of 27.9% compared with January 2024.
The average cost of their trips, excluding fares, in January 2025 was €632, down from €657 in January of last year, today's CSO figures show.
The most important tourism market, in terms of revenue generated, was Continental Europe, accounting for 33.9% of all visitor expenditure. This was followed by Great Britain (30.4%), North America (22.3%), and the Rest of the World (13.5%).
The most frequent reason for the visitors' journey (52.3%) was to visit family or friends, today's CSO figures show.
More of the visitors stayed in their own property or with family or friends (58.1%) than in any other accommodation type, they also reveal.
Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said that although January traditionally only represents 5% of the tourism year, the CSO figures do reflect a soft start to the year for Ireland's tourism industry.
"It further underpins the need for Ministers to prioritise tourism and implement without delay the Programme for Government commitments including lifting the Dublin Airport cap and reducing the VAT rate for hospitality," he added.
