The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation has released an analysis of inbound tourism statistics for 2024, indicating an overall positive outlook for Irish tourism despite some mixed indicators.
While revenue from international visitors rose by 11pc and visitor volume by 5pc compared to 2023, the average length of stay decreased by 4pc, with European visitors experiencing a 15pc drop. the average length of stay of European visitors fell by 15pc. Business tourism had a relatively soft year with the number of nights spent in the country down 18pc, while visitor numbers from Australia and New Zealand fell by 5pc.
ITIC comments on challenges within the tourism sector, including reduced business tourism and a 5pc decline in visitors from Australia and New Zealand, while ongoing cost pressures could affect profitability unless supportive government policies are enacted.
CSO statistical methodology has changed so much since 2019 that direct comparison with pre pandemic is not possible. However, Wiltshire based consultant David Edwards concluded in a survey commissioned by ITIC that inbound tourism is close to recov ery to pre pendemic levels and the number of US citizens arriving back in the US on a flight that had originated in Ireland stood at 1,378,755, up by 7pc from 1,289,066 back in 2019.\
Mr Edwards shared; Up until 2019 the survey routinely estimated that the volume of inbound overnight trips was either akin to, or slightly higher than, the volume of outbound overnight trips, ranging from 49pc to 54pc of the overall passenger flow. The 2023 estimates are hugely different, with the revamped survey indicating that inbound overnight trips represent about 34pc of the total.
