Outbound tourism in the first quarter of this year increased by a fifth, official figures released on Thursday show.
The NSO said the number of people going abroad was 137,730, an increase of 19.5 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2017.
Trips to non-EU countries increased by 45 per cent over the same quarter in 2017.
But Italy and the United Kingdom remained the most popular destinations, with a joint share of 55.9 per cent of total tourist trips.
Total nights spent by outbound tourists increased by 18.6 per cent, amounting to 836,813 nights.
In absolute terms, the majority of guest nights (59.4 per cent) were spent in rented accommodation establishments.
Total estimated outlay by outbound tourists between January and March increased by 11.2 per cent over the same quarter of 2017, and stood at €103.3 million, equivalent to an average €750 per person per trip.