Ireland Tourism Faces Challenges & Opportunitiesโ in 2024
Despite a recent โdip in overall visitor numbers, Ireland’s tourism sector is focusing on โขleveraging positive perceptions and capitalizing on โขemerging trends. According to Tourismโข Ireland Chief Executive Alice Mansergh, thoseโข who have visitedโ Ireland demonstrate stronger satisfaction with its value proposition, presenting an opportunity toโ boost pre-trip perceptions and encourage travel.
Current data from the โCentral Statistics Office (CSO) reveals a year-to-dateโฃ decrease of 11% in inbound tourism.However, July โคfigures โshowed a smallerโข decline of 1.4% compared to the previous year. Last year โฃsaw a positive trend with overseas visitor spending reaching โฌ6.9 billion, a โ9% increase.
The UK remains Ireland’s largest tourism market, accountingโฃ for 32.5% of visitors, followed by the United States at 25.4%. Germany representsโ a smaller, โฃbut still critically important, portionโค at 6.5%. While visitor โnumbers are down in most key marketsโ this year, Canadaโ andโ possibly the Netherlands have shown resilience. Notably, North America was the onylโค major market to seeโ increasedโฃ visitor numbers even during the peak summer holiday period in July.A potential โฃboon for Irish tourism is the growing concern over extreme weather in customary European destinations. โOver a third of overseas consumers are reconsidering their holiday plans due to soaringโ temperatures,and Ireland is being viewed favorably as a “coolcation” alternative alongside other Northern European locations.Key attractions for potential visitors โขinclude the Irish landscape, culture, and iconic landmarks, with a general desire for exploration and disconnection being primary โmotivators.
Ease of access is a factor influencing destination choice. Visitors from Britain and theโฃ United States are largely positiveโค about travel convenience to Ireland, but perceptions are less favorable among those in Germany โฃand the Netherlands, with less than half considering it easy to reach.
Economic headwinds pose a challenge, with 41% of potentialโข travelers citing the cost of living as a limiting factor, and 25% delaying bookings due to economic uncertainty. Word-of-mouth recommendations remainโ the strongest driver of destination choice, followed by online searches, โคtelevision/film,โฃ and social media.
The influence of technology is also growing, with a doubling in the use ofโค generative artificial intelligence (AI) for travel planning in the past six months. Tourism ireland intends to integrate these latest insights, including AI,โ into its marketing strategy for the remainder of the year, utilizing publicity, advertising, digital,โ social, and AI channels to attract visitors.