The Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions has said that 2019 has not lived up to expectations so far in terms of numbers of visitors.
Ahead of its national conference today, it said that while the visitor experiences and attractions sector remains positive, its performance will be down by up to 10% on 2018.
The association's members include the Guinness Storehouse, Airfield Estate, the Book of Kells in Trinity College, the Cliffs of Moher, Hook Lighthouse, Glasnevin Cemetery and Kilmainham Gaol.
AVEA has 88 members across Ireland, with their sites receiving over 20 million visitors in total.
Incoming AVEA chairman Niall O'Callaghan said the tourism industry is facing many challenges including Brexit, market competitiveness and more unstable geo-social and political environments in many of its key international markets.
The increasing costs of doing business is also a real concern for AVEA members, he added.
"The continued increase in insurance premiums are well-documented and will damage the sectors' ability to evolve and grow - in some cases our members have had to cancel events as insurance premiums simply make them unsustainable," Mr O'Callaghan said.
The AVEA's annual survey also reported the negative impact the increased VAT rate is having on the tourism sector.
"Some members working on far tighter margins than ever before in order to remain price competitive, as well as concerns regarding funding for capital intensive heritage attractions given their importance as national treasures," said AVEA chairman Paul Carty.
"These are real concerns that we want to work collaboratively with government to ensure a future proofed VEA sector," he added.
The AVEA member survey records 22.6 million visitors to key attractions in Ireland. These attractions contributed €489m in revenues to the Irish economy, while they also employed 4,000 people in local communities across the country.
