Time to relax

Over the decades, travel and tourism have grown to become one of the world’s largest economic sectors, generating about 10% of world GDP. Tourists became a prominent source of revenue for many people. Furthermore, travelling became so popular that some places in the world, like Venice or Dubrovnik, have to deal with the problem of overtourism.

It’s no wonder that now when travelling from one side of the globe to the other is easier than ever, people go on trips more often. According to the World Tourism Organization’s forecasts, international tourist arrivals will reach 1.8 billion by 2030. And while Europe is still the top tourist destination, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in recent years.

What impact do these trends have on Irish people? Picodi Analysis Team decided to find out more about the habits and preferences of Irish travellers. Read further to learn how often and with whom Irish people travel, how much money they spend, what are the top travel destinations and travellers’ approach to organising trips.

Top destinations

According to the survey results, the majority of Irish people prefer going abroad over domestic travels. 37% of surveyed Irish people declared that they would rather spend their holidays in their country when 63% opted for international travels.

Among those who decide to travel abroad, the most popular countries to visit were Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and the United States.

Once in a blue moon

When Irish people go on their holidays? The shoulder season is gaining its fans around the world since it allows to visit the popular tourist attractions in decent weather and with more affordable prices. Its growing popularity was also noticed by Irish travellers — 32% of respondents declared that they travel during the shoulder season. 53% chose the high season and the remaining 15% prefer to travel during the budget-friendly low season.

The question remains, how much money Irish people are willing to pay for their leisure? According to the survey results, an average Irish person spends €565 per travel. However, the respondents have some smart tricks which make the whole venture more affordable. Among the most popular answers, 41% of surveyed Irish people declared that they buy tickets in advance and 29% book their stay ahead of time.

It looks like Irish people prefer longer getaways as 43% of respondents claimed their trips last around a week. 36% said that they spend less than a week on holidays and 21% two weeks or more. On the other hand, 24% of the surveyed Irish people go on holidays once a year and 38% twice a year or more frequently. 38% of respondents have the opportunity to go on a trip less than once a year.

With whom Irish people spend their holidays? Majority of the surveyed travel with their family or partner (46% and 40% respectively). 11% go with friends and only 3% prefer to travel alone.

All by myself

We already know when and where Irish people travel but how do they organise their trips? The overwhelming majority of respondents (90%) prefer to organise everything by themselves while only 10% rely on travel agencies.

The main reasons for self-organised trips pointed out by Irish travellers were the ability to match everything according to preferences (66%) and the cheaper price (32%). Those who travel with agencies mention that it saves time (35%) and is more comfortable (41%).

Explore the unknown

We asked Irish people whether they prefer to go somewhere new or re-visit their favourite places. The results show that most of them (69%) would rather explore new places and only 31% of respondents chose to go back to places they already know.

When it comes to organising a trip, are there any differences between women’s and men’s attitude? It turns out that men are more spontaneous in the matter of organising journeys. Nevertheless, most people prefer to plan in advance — 63% of men and 83% of women.

Sunbathing on the ravishing Bali beaches, exploring the old alleys of Paris or surfing the waves of the Australian coast? When asked about the favourite way of spending holidays, 62% of Irish respondents chose lying on a beach as their favourite activity. It was followed by sightseeing (27%) and the least popular — active rest (11%).

When in Rome, do as the Romans do – the old proverb says. However, there are different approaches when travelling, especially when it comes to means of transportation or food. Among the surveyed Irish people, 52% chose local public transport as their favourite way of transportation, followed by rental cars (39%) and taxis (9%). As for food, 52% try local cuisine, 29% look for places that serve familiar dishes and 18% eat at the hotel.

In theory, taking a holiday is a way to rest from work. However, sometimes it’s impossible to break free from incoming calls or emails. It turns out that 31% of surveyed Irish people are willing to perform job-related tasks during their holidays.

Around the world

We asked travellers from 39 countries how much money they spend on average per holiday. Based on the answers, we prepared a ranking which indicates the biggest spenders.

An average Irish person spends €565 per person on a holiday, which places Ireland in the middle of the ranking. Australians took first place with €1350 spent on holiday, followed by Hongkongers and Finns. The most frugal travellers come from Indonesia and Pakistan — they spend €185 and €170 respectively.

How to save money while on holidays?

By organising your holiday trip on your own you can save a lot of money. For example, by booking your accomodation through TUI Holidays, Canvas Holidays or Expedia, you can earn cashback that can be withdrawn and spent on other things, such as food or attractions. All you have to do is create a Picodi account and enable the cashback feature before booking your place to stay.

Methodology

This report is based on the survey conducted in April and May 2019 among over 20 000 respondents from 39 countries. For the currency conversion, the average exchange for May 2019 was used.

Sources

• https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/
• https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/overtourism-solutions/index.html
• https://unwto.org/why-tourism

Public Use

Are you willing to share the information and infographics about holidays in Ireland and around the world with your readers? Feel free to use all the data and infographics presented in this report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage.