What you need to know
Irish consumers show a preference for taking short breaks and holidays that they have booked themselves. Eating in local restaurants, shopping and visiting pubs and bars are the most popular activities when on a short break or holiday, with a majority of Irish consumers taking part in them. The strong retail offering, particularly in Belfast and Dublin, and the promotion of Ireland’s food and drink proposition in recent years has positioned the region as a leading shopping and culinary destination. Events such as the 2016 Year of Food in NI will continue to strengthen this proposition and further boost the appeal of Ireland as a short break and holiday destination to both domestic and overseas visitors.
Issues covered in this report
This report examines tourism involving Irish consumers both in Ireland and abroad, and includes an analysis of the main market drivers. It also draws on consumer research to examine the types of trips that Irish consumers are taking, where they are visiting when on a short break or holiday and what activities Irish consumers like to do when taking a short break or holiday.
The standard travel and tourism definitions used in the terminology of this report are as follows:
Tourism is any travel, which involves an overnight stay away from home.
A holiday is a subjectively defined form of tourism and can be distinguished from other leisure travel such as visits to friends and relatives (VFR) or shopping trips.
For the purposes of this report, a holiday is a trip of four nights or more away from home; a short break is a trip that involves one to three nights away from home.
An inclusive tour, or package holiday, is defined as the simultaneous sale of at least two elements of a holiday to the traveller: fares on public transport (eg flights) and commercial accommodation (eg hotel or self-catering apartment). Other elements, such as meals or excursions, are not essential to the definition of an inclusive tour. The term ‘all-inclusive’ is used to describe a special type of resort holiday in which food, drink, excursions and other services are provided as part of the total holiday cost.
An independent holiday is one in which the traveller organises and books transport and accommodation from separate sources. Seat- or flight-only is a type of independent holiday, and the terms are used to denote holidays in which travellers only purchase a return fare and thereafter book their own accommodation, car hire etc.
