Tourism Ireland has said more hotel accommodation will be needed in Ireland to keep up with the demand from the US.
Siobhán McManamy, interim chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said the country could certainly do with more hotel accommodation.
She was speaking as Aer Lingus launched a new route between Dublin and Cleveland, Ohio, its first new transatlantic service since 2019.
"The flights are back to about 102%. Where we are this July will be just ahead of where we were in 2019, but we are down to between 20 and 30% on accommodation in the peak summer months," she said.
Ms McManamy said extending the tourist season for the US market would help with that capacity issue.
"Certainly the industry would tell us there is a strong February, March, April from the market this year," she added.
She said it had been well documented that in some counties, more accommodation had been offered for humanitarian reasons.
Ms McManamy also said the market was experiencing other shortages including chauffeur-driven cars.
But she said Americans were spending more per head, including on once in a lifetime trips.
They make up 27% of the spend here, about twice the spend per head compared to visitors from the UK, who might be more likely to stay short-term or with family and friends:
"At that really high end, we don't have as many of those chauffeur-driven cars as we'd like," she said. "But it is about encouraging visitors to maybe consider places they wouldn't have considered previously where there is more accommodation available."
Her comments came as Aer Lingus commences its new four times weekly route to Cleveland, Ohio, the first direct flight between Europe and Ohio's second largest city.
It comes amid strong demand from US consumers looking to visit Ireland and Europe, boosted by the strong dollar and the removal of Covid restrictions.
Aer Lingus said its transatlantic bookings for this summer are up more than 20% on 2019.
Meanwhile, 90% of the seats on its Cleveland flights are already booked for the peak summer season.
"The addition of the new Cleveland route is a further demonstration of Aer Lingus' commitment to growing Dublin as a hub airport, a key part of the airline’s growth strategy," said Lynne Embleton, CEO, Aer Lingus.
The airline said it will continue to grow its position as a transatlantic connecting carrier between Ireland, Europe - and North America.
As consumers become increasing climate conscious when it comes to booking holidays and overseas trips, Ms Embleton acknowledged that the aviation industry needs to decarbonise.
When asked on Morning Ireland what the airline is doing to reduce its impact on the environment, Ms Embleton said:
"We were the first airline group to commit to net zero by 2050, the first European aviation group to commit to aviation fuel targets by 2030 and we have invested in these next generation aircraft which are 20% more fuel efficient than the aircraft they have been replacing."
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She said they are also working with Government and aviation players across the sector to get sustainable aviation fuel going for the industry.
"It is critical to decarbonising and it needs a lot of coordination across all of the players," she added.
This morning, airport operator daa announced plans for new sustainability measures to incentivise airlines to operate lower CO₂ emission planes at Dublin Airport.
Reacting to the news, Ms Embleton said she looks forward to seeing the details of the proposals.
"We're committed absolutely to decarbonising and anything that encourages that is really good news," she said.
Despite the rising cost of living, Aer Lingus said research indicates that consumers are willing to spend more on their holidays, which is in line with the bounceback in demand for their premium leisure travel.
"There is significant appetite among Aer Lingus leisure customers for a more luxurious experience reflected in their business classic cabin and equally those travelling in economy are upgrading their travel with added extras such as lounge access and fast track," it said in a statement.
When it comes to business travel, Aer Lingus said its recovery has been slower than leisure.
But Ms Embleton said they have seen an uptick in business demand over the past few months.
On the issue of capacity at Dublin Airport, Ms Embleton said she believes the capital is there to build new stands at the existing terminal buildings.
"We need to get on and build them now," she said.
Ms Embleton said these new stands are needed to allow for quick connections for customers coming from EU destinations and connecting to the US.
In preparation for the busy summer season, the airline has been recruiting 1,000 new staff over the last six to eight months, and Ms Embleton said that recruitment process is going well.
"The troubles across the sector from last year seem to be behind us," she said.
New planes a "game changer" for Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus confirmed that it will be adding some new aircraft to its fleet.
"We've got some new Neo aircraft coming this year," Ms Embleton said.
"These are the most fuel efficient aircraft that we can bring into our fleet.
"We have more coming next year too, including planes for long-haul trips - we've got XLR - extra long range narrow bodied aircraft and they will open up even more new routes for us to operate in the coming years," she added.
Aer Lingus has described the arrival of the Airbus A321NeoLR into the fleet, which today operates the inaugural Cleveland flight, as a "game changer" for the company.
Since 2013, Aer Lingus has grown the number of transatlantic routes it serves from six to 19 in 2023.
The number of transatlantic passengers will have almost tripled in the same timeframe, from 1.1m in 2013 to an expected 3m in 2023.
Recent reports by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), stated that US tourism into Europe is expected to continue performing well, with Ireland well positioned to benefit from this.
Those in the industry have noticed a 'Biden Bounce' in the wake of the recent US Presidential visit.
