7 in 10 Head for Holidays

Almost three-quarters of Irish residents intend to take an overnight trip in the country within the next six months, according to a new survey.  The intention to travel survey, conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), found the south-west region of the country is the most popular destination for holiday-goers, with 28.7% of people intending to take an overnight trip visiting counties in this area.

---

This is followed by the west and south-east regions, at 20.6% and 13.3%, respectively.
Some 74% of people intending to take an overnight domestic trip in the next 12 months want to do so for holidays, leisure, and recreation purposes, the CSO found, while 22.4% plan to visit friends and relatives.
 
Those who are intending to make an overnight domestic business trip account for just 1.1% of people.
 
One-fifth of those intending to take an overnight domestic trip plan to use self-catering accommodation, while 56.7% will use hotel, guesthouse, or B&B accommodation.
The survey also found that 64.6% of residents aged 18 and over had cancelled an overnight trip due to Covid-19 since March 2020.
 
More than half of Irish residents, or 54.5%, cancelled overseas trips due to the pandemic, while 39.6% cancelled domestic trips.
 
While 47.3% of people intend to travel abroad in 2021, 34.5% intend to take their next trip outside the island of Ireland in 2022 or later, and the remainder (18.2%) are not thinking about trips abroad at present.
 
One-third of people who are intending to take a trip overseas in the next 12 months stated the reason for the trip would be to visit friends and relatives, while 24.6% of those planning a trip to the North intend to travel for the same purpose.

REF: hospitalityenews.ie