DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland was among the two EU member states that saw a decrease in tourist numbers last year, even as the European Union set new records for tourism accommodation.

The European Commission published new figures showing a 1.8 percent fall to 41.3 million in nights spent in tourist accommodation in the Republic in 2025.

It was the worst performance among EU member states, with Romania the only other country to experience a decline in tourist numbers, down 1.4 per cent.

Ireland's tourism slowdown came as the latest figures showed tourist bed nights across the EU rose by two percent, increasing by 61.5 million from 2024 to a record 3.08 billion.

Several countries saw strong growth, including Malta (up 9.9 percent), Poland (up seven percent), and Latvia (up 6.2 percent).

Across the EU, hotels made up 63 percent of overnight stays, followed by holiday homes and guesthouses at 24 percent, and campsites at 13 percent.

In Ireland, 61 percent of stays were in hotels, 33 percent in guesthouses and other short-stay accommodation, and 6 percent in campsites.

Overseas visitors made up about 58 percent of Ireland's tourism business last year, while domestic tourists accounted for 42 percent.

During the third quarter of 2025, the peak summer season, tourist bed nights in Ireland fell by 4.1 percent compared with the same period in 2024.

Different sectors performed differently: hotel stays fell by 8.4 percent, campsite stays dropped by 27 percent, but stays in holiday homes and other short-stay accommodation rose by 15.4 percent.

Official figures show there were just over 35.9 million tourist bed nights in Ireland in the first 10 months of 2025, down 1.1 million from the same period in 2024. This equals a yearly drop of about 3 percent, while the EU as a whole saw a 2.1 percent rise.

However, tourism picked up in the last two months of 2025, including a 13 percent increase in November, leading the European Commission to estimate that the final drop for the year will be just under two percent.

From January to October, bed nights by domestic visitors in Ireland fell by 4.4 percent to 15 million. Among overseas visitors, the decline was smaller, down two percent to 20.9 million.

The Eurostat report uses data from Ireland's Central Statistics Office, which has been questioned by groups such as the Irish Hotels Federation, who say the decline has been overstated.

The European Commission said tourist bed nights in the EU are now 7.2 percent higher than in 2019, before the pandemic. But it said tourism in five countries — Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovakia — has not yet fully recovered.

Spain remained the top destination for foreign tourists in 2025 with 330 million bed nights, followed by Italy with 264 million, France with 150 million, and Greece with 131 million.