Overseas weddings are on the wane since the demise of the Celtic
Tiger, with couples reluctant to impose travel costs on guests,
according to the president of the Irish Travel Agents Association.“They have the gift to pay for, the wedding day outfits, and then they are expected to travel as well. I think couples are reluctant to ask people to travel since the recession,” she said.
Ms Dunne, managing director of The Travel Broker in Clontarf, Dublin, said those who do choose to get married overseas are aware they need to give guests plenty of notice to allow them time to save and to plan the trip, which many choose to turn into the annual family holiday.
Families are now budgeting well in advance of going on holiday she said, compared to “coming in and sticking it all on a credit card during the Celtic Tiger”.
Spain is the number one destination for Irish couples who choose to marry abroad, Ms Dunne said.
It is also the top sun destination for Irish people and Gonzalo Ceballos, director of the Spanish Tourism Office (Ireland) said weather was the biggest factor for the Irish when choosing their holiday destination.
The numbers travelling on flights to Spain during August rose from 178,173 last year to 186,933 this year, while seat numbers were up from 205,342 to 231,334.
Overall between Jan and Aug this year, passenger numbers travelling to Spain rose 6.22%, from 1.03m to 1.09m, while seat numbers increased from 1.2m to 1.3m, a 5.9% increase. Airlines increase seat numbers when demand is good.
In total, 6.6m overseas trips were made in 2012, up from 6.5m in 2011. Trips to Spain accounted for over a fifth — 21.3% — of that.
However, the use of charter flights to get to holiday destinations has fallen dramatically as people take to the internet to book holidays themselves. ITAA CEO Pat Dawson said the number of charter seats out of Ireland dropped from 1.27m in 2007 to 350,000 last year.