The following assestment of the CSO figures about the travel patterns of the Irish comes from the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation . It makes interesting reading . · It may seem like a long time ago now, but the comprehensive Household Travel survey for the 3rd quarter of 2007 has just been issued by the CSO, and as usual it contains some interesting information about the travel patterns of the Irish. It covers the peak travel period of July, August and September. · Domestic trips increased by 6% to almost 2.5 million, bednights grew by 7% to 11.5 million while the all important revenue increased by 10% over the same quarter in the previous year to €595 million. Impressive though that appears, it was well below the growth rates experienced in the first 6 months of the year. · Domestic holiday trips were up just 3% for the 3rd quarter on the previous year but the strength of demand in the first half of the year (+22%) meant that holidays were up 13% for the first 9 months of the year.Holiday trips to overseas destinations were up 13% in the quarter and 17% for the first 9 months, somewhat ahead of the domestic growth. · Yet again, growth was entirely due to the extraordinary appetite for travel amongst the over 50’s. · Unbelievably, the number of domestic trips taken by the over 50’s was nearly half as great again as in the corresponding quarter in 2006. This age cohort accounted for 43% of all domestic trips and probably even a higher proportion of the holiday market. It is likely that, with the economic slowdown, the 50+ segment will become even more important over the coming 12 months. · In sharp contrast, those aged between 20-49 years took 13% fewer domestic trips in the 3rd quarter than in the previous year. It is worth noting that domestic trip-taking by those aged between 20-49 has declined for eight successive quarters i.e. since the 4th quarter of 2005.So while overall growth continued from the domestic market, the rate of growth decelerated in the 3rd quarter, and we can be pretty sure that this trend has continued since then. · The growth in holidays abroad remained strong, up 13% in the 3rd quarter on 2006. While this is less than the exceptional growth rate in the first 6 months (+20%) it is still significant and is on a par with the sort of growth seen since 2000. · Expenditure on travel abroad at €2.4 billion was up 12% on Q3 2006 while expenditure for the first 9 months at €5.5 billion was up 17% on 2006. Or to put it another way, expenditure on travel abroad for the first 9 months of last year exceeded total expenditure for all of 2005. · The most popular destinations abroad and their performance relative to the same quarter a year earlier were: Spain +8%, Great Britain –9%, France +19%, Italy +33% and Portugal +26%. Good to see trips to Northern Ireland increase by 12% in the quarter. · The growth dynamic in the abroad market can be attributed to – yes, you guessed it – the over 50’s. The number of trips abroad by this group was up by over one-third on the corresponding quarter in 2006, and for the first 9 months of the year recorded a massive 44% increase on the previous year. In contrast, there was no growth of note in the number of trips abroad taken by those in the 20-49 age groups. · By any yardstick, the buoyancy in travel by the over 50’s age group is quite phenomenal. Irrespective of destination, home or abroad, in the first 9 months of last year the over 50’s took almost 1.8 million more - yes 1.8 million more trips - than they did just one year earlier (one million extra trips in the domestic market and 800,000 abroad). · In contrast, the 20-49 years age groups took some 600,000 less trips in the first 9 months of last year compared to the corresponding 9 months in 2006, with the domestic market suffering marginally worse than trips abroad. · The use of the Internet for booking domestic trips continues to increase in popularity and now accounts for one-third of all prebooked trips (half of all domestic trips are prebooked). · For trips overseas, the Internet is the most popular method of booking, being the preferred choice for two-thirds of overseas trip takers. · Interestingly, although small in the overall scheme of things (4%), trips to second homes abroad for the first 9 months numbered 259,000 whereas 5 years ago there were just 80,00 trips to second homes for the whole year. February 26th 2008
Irish Tourist Industry Confederation
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