THE Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) this week revealed that approximately €5.3bn was spent by international visitors while visiting Ireland in 2023, with 254,000 people working in the sector, making it the country’s largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer.
Looking ahead, the ITIC is forecasting that Irish tourism can achieve 5% revenue growth in 2024, with the North American market offering the best prospects.
But there are challenges ahead – including the shortage of hotel bedrooms, and also the high cost of living in Ireland, which will affect all aspects of tourism.
Ireland is fast becoming a ‘high end’ destination – only available to the tourist with a large amount of disposable income. And if we cannot reduce prices, then we must market ourselves as such.
Tourists are well aware that when they visit most Scandinavian countries, they are not going to get very far on a tight budget – but they know this in advance.
For many years…
