Irish tourism has continued to recover from its 2025 drop with approximately 564,600 visitors to the Republic in April, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Following the trend of the first three months of 2026, which all saw an increase in visitors to Ireland compared to 2025, April saw tourism volumes up by seven per cent compared to April 2025 and three per cent compared to April 2024. While uncertainty has been expressed about inbound tourism for the rest of the year by the likes of Paul Gallagher, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, April has seen a reassuring trend of continued growth, with tourism numbers now sitting just above where they were two years ago. Foreign visitors who departed Ireland in April 2026 stayed a total of 3.9 million nights in the country, up 14 per cent on April 2025 and up 12 per cent on April 2024.The largest share of tourists came from Britain (39 per cent), which saw 218,000 British tourists visit Ireland in April.They were followed by continental Europe (36 per cent), North America (21 per cent) and the rest of the world (4 per cent). Alone, German residents accounted for 41,700 tourists, while 104,300 of those who visited Ireland came from the United States.Will new pay transparency rules close the gender pay gap for good? Listen | 28:55Collectively, tourists spent some €431 million in Ireland in April, with European visitors spending more than any other group (€159 million). North American tourists were the next biggest spenders (€145 million), followed by Britain (€99 million) and the rest of the world (€28 million). “Taken together, this represented an increase of 15 per cent when compared with April 2025, and a rise of 3% when compared with April 2024,” said Edward Duffy, statistician in the tourism and travel division of the CSO.Excluding fares, tourists spent most on day-to-day spending (€230 million), on activities including eating out, entrance fees, and using public transport.The increase in tourist numbers and expenditure in 2026 is a recovery from the flattening of the Irish tourist market in 2025, believed to have been caused by uncertainty regarding US trade policy last year.Up to 41 per cent of tourists indicated that they were visiting Ireland for holidays, leisure, and recreation, while 36 per cent were visiting family and friends, and 15 per cent were in Ireland for business purposes. Tourists stayed for an average of 6.9 nights, up from 6.5 nights in April 2025.