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Warning that tourism in Ireland at 'tipping point'

The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation is calling for the lifting of the Dublin Airport passenger cap, increased Government spending, as well as the restoration of the 9% hospitality VAT rate in order to boost tourism in the country, which it said is at a "tipping point".

Business • 13 Aug

The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has reported 'soft' markets from the likes of Britain, France and Germany

Tourism industry seeing 'soft' European, domestic markets

Tourism operators across the country are reporting a decline in revenue in every major overseas market this year.

Business • 29 Jul

International visitors spent less time in Ireland this year, but they spent more money while they were here

2024 served up a tough year for hospitality

What was on the menu for the hospitality and tourism sector in 2024?

Business • 29 Dec 24

Sliabh Liag in Co Donegal forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Tourists spending less time in Ireland, but more money

International visitors are spending less time in Ireland, but more money, according to new figures from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC).

Business • 31 Oct 24

The tourism sector is concerned about the implications of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport cap must be addressed in planning process

The Minister for Tourism has said there is no legal mechanism outside of the planning process to enable the passenger cap at Dublin Airport to be lifted.

Business • 25 Sep 24

433,300 people visited Ireland from abroad last month

Early signs of softness in tourism market - ITIC

Early signs of a "soft market" coupled with capacity concerns are causing worry for tourism industry leaders, the representative body has said.

Business • 29 Mar 24

Hotels and guesthouses are among the tourism providers facing the rising labour costs

71 restaurants closed in February, with 1,500 jobs lost

Up to 1,500 jobs were lost in the restaurant sector last month, as a result of rising costs facing the industry.

Business • 21 Mar 24

International tourists here spent about €5.3 billion this year.

Irish tourism faces a number of challenges, ITIC warns

The Chief Executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) says 2023 showed that Irish tourism is robust and resilient but warned that the market faces a number of challenges next year.

Business • 27 Dec 23

The ITIC is worried about rising business costs, supply shortages and the cap on Dublin Airport numbers for next year

ITIC wary on 2024 due to business costs, airport cap

The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation said last week's Dublin city centre riots have caused short-term reputational harm abroad.

Business • 01 Dec 23

The scenes of violence and unrest made headlines internationally

Dublin's tourism reputation damaged by riots

There is concern among the tourism industry in Dublin at the reputational damage to the capital following the violence and unrest last Thursday.

Business • 27 Nov 23

582,100 international visitors came to Ireland in September, new figures from the ITIC show

Tourism industry see sluggish performance in September

Soaring business costs and reduced tourism accommodation supply meant that the key tourism month did not perform as strongly as hoped in September.

Business • 17 Nov 23

ITIC says the tourism sector's recovery to pre-pandemic levels is much slower than hoped

Key tourism month of July not as strong as hoped - ITIC

The rising cost of doing business and reduced tourism accommodation supply meant the key tourism month of July wasn't as strong as hoped, new data from the sector suggests.

Business • 05 Oct 23

Irish tourism bodies described Summer 2023 as a mixed bag with varied performances in different parts of the country and in different sectors

How did Irish tourism fare this summer?

The rain poured cold water on the domestic tourism market in Ireland this summer, sending Irish people overseas in search of sunshine.

Business • 02 Sep 23

1.66 million tourists came to Ireland for the period April to June

Tourism chiefs concerned at pace of sector's recovery

The body representing the tourism industry here has said it is concerned that the recovery of the sector is still some way off the levels reached prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Business • 24 Aug 23

The report concludes that it is 'reasonable to assume' that 11,500 additional beds would be required to meet demand in the coming decade

Over 11,000 extra tourist beds needed by 2032 - report

An estimated 11,500 additional tourism beds will be required here in the next decade if Ireland is to meet projected demand, a new report on the sector has concluded.

Business • 17 Aug 23

The data is based on airline and port arrival figures

Inbound tourism visits still down 16% on pre-pandemic

The number of international visitors to Ireland over the first three months of the year remained down 16% compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

Business • 12 Apr 23

The Government has announced a final extension of the 9% reduced VAT rate for the hospitality sector for a further six months

Govt to expand TBESS, keep 9% VAT rate until September

The Government has today announced more measures to help businesses deal with cost-of-living increases.

Business • 21 Feb 23

The 13.5% VAT rate was cut in 2020 to help stimulate demand in the tourism and hospitality sectors during the pandemic.

Hairdressers call on Govt to cut VAT rate to 5%

Hairdressers have become the latest group to appeal to the Government to retain the 9% VAT rate, which is due to expire at the end of February.

Business • 23 Jan 23

The report says providers would have to pass the VAT increase on, pushing up prices by 4.1%

Increasing 9% VAT rate could cost 24,000 jobs - report

A report produced for the tourism and hospitality industry has warned that tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if the reduced 9% VAT rate is returned to 13.5% at the end of February as planned.

Business • 11 Jan 23

For the first month since the pandemic, the data reveals that European markets were on a par with their performance in 2019

Inbound tourist numbers still below pre-pandemic levels

660,000 international tourists visited Ireland in November, down 4% compared to the same month in 2019.

Business • 08 Dec 22

24% of hotel rooms, about 15,000 of the total of 60,000, are being used by the Government to house asylum seekers (Stock image)

24% of hotel rooms being used for humanitarian reasons

Almost one quarter of all hotel rooms are being used for humanitarian purposes, and if this continues there will be higher rates and job losses next summer, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Business • 07 Dec 22

One in four tourist accommodation bedrooms is being used to house refugees currently

Tourism sector fears bed shortages due to refugee issue

The representative body for the tourism sector has warned that if the level of tourist accommodation being used to house Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers does not fall, it will have an enormous knock-on effect for the sector next year.

Business • 10 Nov 22

338,000 people visited Ireland from continental Europe last month, down 5% on 2019

Inbound tourist numbers still 9% below 2019 levels

Nearly 900,000 international tourists visited Ireland in September, down 9% on the same month in 2019.

Business • 12 Oct 22

Hotels and restaurants - among the biggest consumers of electricity in the economy - have reported energy bills soaring to 'unsustainable and unprecedented levels'

Tourism recovery continues but warning about outlook

The recovery in the tourism sector continued into August, but there is a warning that soaring energy inflation and a deteriorating global economic picture could halt momentum.

Business • 08 Sep 22

The ITIC said Ireland's competitiveness is "under threat", stating that input costs and prices are rising faster than the European average

Tourism body: Ireland's competitiveness 'under threat'

One million people visited Ireland last month, as recovery across the tourism sector continued to gather pace.

Business • 11 Aug 22