More Irish people are considering a holiday at home this year.

According to research by Fáilte Ireland, 61% of us are planning a “stay-cation”, that’s ahead of a short-break outside of the country.

Ireland has long suffered at the hands of cheap holidays abroad, but the economic downturn – coupled with better value at home – means more of us are opting to stay at home.

Director of Market Development John Concannon says although it’s a challenging market, there’s an appetite out there to holiday at home.

“We’ve seen very strong robust performances in the Irish market” he said.

“Irish people getting out, discovering Ireland and they’re doing that because it’s a superb product; the satisfaction levels are very high, value for money scores are very high and…people rate the destination as the perfect place to have a break”.

“So Ireland is up there as a preferred destination at the moment” he added.