Irish inbound tourism continued to climb in May, with some 661,500 tourists visiting the country last month, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This is a jump of 18 per cent from May last year, marking the fifth consecutive month this year of increased inbound visitors.Exceptionally low inbound tourism was recorded in Ireland in 2025, believed to have stemmed from Trump’s controversial trade policy. However, the figures are also 6 per cent up from May 2024, suggesting a corrective recovery from last year’s slump in foreign visitors. The length of visitors’ stay to Ireland in May also reflects a parallel growth, up 16 per cent from last year, and 7 per cent from 2024. Accumulatively, visitors spent 4.8 million nights in Ireland in May. Most visitors stayed for about a week, which is consistent with figures from previous years. Has the Irish building sector got themselves hooked on Government subsidies? Listen | 39:58As has been the pattern of recent years, visitors from the United Kingdom accounted for the largest share of inbound tourism at 36 per cent, with 241,000 Britons travelling to Ireland in May. They were followed by the US and Germany, from which 141,300 and 42,200 individuals travelled respectively. “Visitor numbers rose in May 2026 when compared with May 2025: Great Britain (+21 per cent), continental Europe (+25 per cent), North America (+5 per cent), and the rest of the world (+36 per cent),” said Edward Duffy, statistician in the tourism and travel division of the CSO. “The leading purpose for travel to Ireland in May 2026 was for holidays, leisure and recreation (46 per cent), followed by visiting friends and relatives (31 per cent), and business trips (12 per cent),” he added. A notable shift in where visitors were staying was also recorded in May. Less visitors stayed in hotels than in 2024, but there was an increase of about 20,000 individuals staying in friends/relatives’ properties in May 2025, as well as 10,000 more visitors staying in rented houses. Among all those who visited Ireland in May, an accumulative €608 million was spent in the State, up 27 per cent from last year. Of this spending, the majority went on accommodation (€296 million), but day-to-day expenses such as eating out, entrance fees and public transport were noted as the next biggest contributor to costs. “Visitors from North America accounted for €246 million (40 per cent), continental Europe for €198 million (33 per cent), Great Britain for €121 million (20 per cent) and visitors from the rest of the world for €43 million (7 per cent),” said Duffy.