Foreign visitor numbers to Ireland fell by 10% in May compared to the same month last year, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office, reports RTE.
Last month, 560,000 tourists arrived in the country.
Compared to May of the previous year, arrivals from Continental Europe dropped by 21%, visitors from the rest of the world decreased by 38%, and those from Britain declined by 9%.
By contrast, tourists from North America increased by 11%, reports RTE.
CSO Statistician Gregg Patrick reported that visitors spent €477 million in Ireland (excluding travel fares) during May.
“Visitors from Great Britain accounted for €99m (21%) of this spend, Continental Europe for €143m (30%), North America for €207m (43%), and visitors from the Rest of the World for €29m (6%),” he said, reports RTE.
“Taken together, this represented a fall of 21% compared with May 2024, and no change compared with May 2023,” he added, reports RTE.
The main reason visitors travelled was for holiday or leisure purposes (43%), followed by visits to friends or relatives (31%).
More visitors stayed in hotels (47%) than any other accommodation type, and the average trip lasted 7.3 nights, the CSO noted.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland expressed “deep concern with the continuing decline in overseas tourists numbers to Ireland,” reports RTE.
“As we enter peak season, businesses are finding trading conditions challenging and margins eroded. The RAI is calling for a vat reduction to 9% for food service and a review of employers PRSI for labour intensive sectors like hospitality and retail,” the association said in a statement, reports RTE.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said the CSO figures did not reflect the sector’s own experiences.
He noted that data from coach tourism and attractions indicated this year was “flat” compared with 2024, reports RTE.
The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has voiced serious worries about the latest CSO inbound tourism data.
“The decline in tourism spend is part of an ongoing trend so far this year. Our primary fear is that, if this continues into the summer, it could have a very significant negative impact on our industry,” said IHF President Michael Magner, reports RTE.
“This would pose an enormous challenge for tourism businesses nationwide which are already struggling under unsustainable increases in operating costs across all aspects of their businesses,” reports RTE.
Mr Magner added that although there remains some discrepancy between official figures and industry data on overseas trips, the May statistics now better reflect what businesses are observing on the ground, factoring in domestic tourism’s contribution, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
