Ireland Sees Tourism Spending Boom Despite Fewer Visitors

Ireland's tourism sector has experienced a surge in visitor spending, with overseas visitors spending €5.38 billion from January to October 2024, a 15% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

While visitor numbers increased by 8% year-on-year, reaching 5.79 million, challenges persist in certain markets, particularly from Great Britain. The number of visitors from Great Britain decreased by 13% in October 2024 compared to the previous year.

Despite these volume challenges, the average spend per visitor increased by 9% in October 2024, indicating a shift towards higher-value tourism. Mainland Europe remains a key market, with significant growth in both visitor numbers and spending.

The impact of the airport cap in Dublin, which has reduced seat capacity to 96% of winter 2023 levels, is also affecting overall visitor numbers. While regional and Northern Ireland airports are experiencing growth, the cap on Dublin Airport is hindering the full potential of the tourism sector.

Alice Mansergh, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said:"It is positive to see that overseas tourism spend so far in 2024 has grown +15% compared to the same period in 2023, with Mainland Europe, Great Britain and North America all demonstrating revenue growth. This growth is vital for the tourism industry, at a time when cost inflation means margins are tight, and we're proud to support demand growth through our overseas marketing. "October as a standalone month grew also in terms of overseas tourism spend compared to October 2023, at almost +4%, but there are some visible challenges or risks to navigate that show up in this month's data. Visitors in October spent +9% more per trip, and while almost 550,000 visitors chose to come to Ireland, this was -5% fewer than in October 2023, driven by a softening from Great Britain and the first dip in volumes of visitors from North America that we've seen this year – albeit that October was the month before the US election.

"There are some constraints ahead, with air access limited for the winter season by the cap at Dublin airport, which is on hold for summer 2025, but has already been applied for winter 2024. Despite growth at regional airports, the cap at Dublin has an impact, as it is the airport typically supporting ~70% of air access to the island of Ireland and ~85% of air access for Ireland exclusive of Northern Ireland. With Dublin at 96% of the air seat capacity it had last winter, the island overall dips to 99% of the air seat capacity or air access it had last year, with markets such as Great Britain and North America affected, at 97% and 96% seat capacity respectively for winter 2024 vs winter 2023.

"Tourism Ireland welcomes steps being taken to review the cap at Dublin airport as a priority. In the meantime, we are partnering with air and sea carriers to support growth in demand for routes directly into the regions, to mitigate risk where possible. This winter, we are promoting reasons to explore across seasons, we have publicity programmes under way across 13 markets and we will be launching kickstart campaigns across TV and digital channels overseas to inspire bookings to come and explore Ireland as a top destination for 2025. December is often a key period when people begin to consider their main holidays for the year ahead and we will be supporting the tourism industry to win hearts, minds and trips."