American visitors proving vital in recovery of Irish tourism industry (2024)

Notably, 2023 brought with it no more lockdowns, and was the year where we truly got to grips with this new frontier known as ‘post-pandemic life’.

“2023 was the first full calendar year that we could officially say we were post-pandemic, in that all restrictions had been lifted,” explains Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC). “Obviously that meant we were still in recovery mode throughout 2023, and still are, but last year managed to show us just how robust and resilient the industry is, and that tourism is certainly on the right recovery path.”

The industry proved to be so robust, in fact, that the ITIC found that approximately €5.3 billion 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 forecast that Irish tourism can achieve 5% revenue growth in real terms in 2024 with the North American market offering the best prospects.

“There's still some way to go towards a full recovery of all the markets, but last year the US market performed the strongest, particularly the North American market” explains Eoghan. “I think the reasons behind that are twofold — one is the current state of the US economy, which thankfully is in a pretty good place at the moment. There’s robust growth and unemployment is low, inflation is falling. The dollar is strong, which obviously makes holidaying in Europe attractive.

“As well as their economy being in good shape, the second key aspect is that there's really great international, transatlantic air access from the States into Ireland. Americans are flying in year-round into Dublin and into Shannon, Aer Lingus has increased its capacity and its fleet, you have the likes of JetBlue coming into the market in March joining a number of other US carriers, so it's relatively easy to get to Ireland.

“The other reason we’re keen to keep tapping into the North American market is because there's a very warm and strong disposition to Ireland amongst US consumers. That's hugely encouraging for us, because our American visitors are the big spenders. They tend to tour the various regions and spend a significant number of days in Ireland, so they're a very valuable market and it was a fantastic result to see that they returned in such solid numbers last year.”

How then to not only replicate, but expand on, that success this year? With the upcoming Olympics just a stone’s throw away, and with Ireland being so easily accessible from France, could Paris 2024 have positive knock-on effects for Irish tourism?

“If Europe does well in terms of drawing in significant numbers from the States, then certainly I think Ireland will gain its fair share,” Eoghan predicts. “However, tourism is in an incredibly competitive space. Not just for the Olympics — at any time, an American traveler can choose to visit France, or equally Scotland, or Norway, just as quickly as they might choose Ireland, so we've really got to compete firmly. We have to ensure Ireland is offering good value for money, and that the tourism experience here is second to none.

"It’s critical that we maintain the warm, hospitable welcome that Ireland is so widely known for, because we can't take anything for granted. The US market is incredibly important to us, it's one we've got to nurture moving forward.”

One of the key ways Ireland is holding its own amongst competitors is through the huge variety it offers to incoming tourists — which Americans make great advantage of.

“I think the great thing about American tourists is that they do a bit of everything! They spend, on average, about eight days in Ireland and they’ll typically split that time between spots such as the Wild Atlantic Way or Kerry, where they enjoy Killarney in particular. Connemara is always quite a popular choice too, as is Galway city.

"They also explore Dublin and enjoy the delights of the capital city, particularly if they’re flying into Ireland or back home from there. They’re very keen to experience the culture of the country and the warm Irish welcome, as well as the unbeatable scenery across Ireland — they're the three main aspects that appeal most to the American visitor.”

While that warm welcome may still have many visitors in the US and beyond smitten with Ireland, it’s getting harder and harder to provide. Eoghan warns that capacity concerns are more prevalent than ever in 2024 — and that perceptions of a ‘no room at the inn’ attitude may soon deter incoming tourists.

“[The ITIC has] been flagging for quite some time that the Government is over-reliant on hotels and guest houses for refugees and asylum seekers. About 1 in 5 tourist bedrooms nationally are currently contracted to the government and we think that's simply too many. The Government needs to come up with a plan B and use other forms of accommodation, whether it's modular housing or reception centers or local authority buildings. They can't constantly be resorting to hotel rooms and taking them out of the tourism economy, it has too big an impact.

“So far, we’re not seeing it hugely affect the American market, insofar as the majority of hotels being taken out of the market by the government are in the three-star and lower category, whereas Americans tend to opt for four-star and five-star hotels, but of course the lack of any rooms is a big issue for Irish tourism. If we want a strong industry for the next 5-10 years, it’s imperative that the government reduces its reliance on the accommodation sector and brings those hotels back into the tourism economy, because we desperately need that capacity going forward.”

Another serious issue threatening the tourism industry’s stability in the coming years, Eoghan fears, is the passenger cap in Dublin Airport. “There's a serious lack of capacity in Dublin Airport at the moment, because they've reached their cap of 32 million passengers a year, the maximum that’s allowed in line with their planning permission. They recently applied to the County Council for an expanded planning cap of 40 million, and the ITIC strongly believes that needs to be granted and approved. Dublin is the main gateway to the island of Ireland, north and south, and we need to make sure there’s room for growth. It’s important not just for the economy and FDI, but also — crucially — for tourism.

“There are many steps we need to take in terms of aviation overall. There is underutilised capacity, for instance, in Shannon and Cork airports and I think it’s incumbent on all of us to maximise their use. Both airports thankfully are growing, but we'd like to see them grow even faster and Shannon Airport in particular is obviously a key gateway from North America, allowing US visitors to arrive into the Midwest and into the western seaboard directly. That’s hugely important for the local region, so it would be fantastic to see the government support Shannon Airport, and regional airports in general, by increasing financial support in line State Aid rules. It’s important to grow regional airports anyway, so Irish tourism can grow in turn, but particularly when there's so much pressure on Dublin.”

While 2024 is still only just beginning — and 2023 taught us that nobody can predict just what a new year might bring — the ITIC urges that a solution has to be found soon. Demand is certainly strong for the year ahead, with our land of céad míle fáilte having worked its charms on many.

“The feedback from American tourists remains incredibly positive,” Eoghan shares. “As they return home, they always have great things to say about their Irish holiday experience, which has been confirmed by many surveys that Fáilte Ireland have done. It's hugely encouraging.”