Hotel prices in Dublin for Saint Patrick’s weekend have reduced compared to last year.
Fáilte Ireland says this is due to a resurgence in hotel capacity exceeding 7pc from previous levels. and the end of contracts housing Ukrainian refugees in some hotels.
Ireland hosted Scotland in the six nations championship on March 16 last year, flooding the city with an incremental 7,000 rugby fans.
Visitor numbers to Ireland for January, the latest month surveyed by the Central Staistics Office, sowed a drop of 25pc compared to January 2024, with spending also down nearly 28pc.
The freefall affected all markets. England was down 21.9pc, the USA 18.5pc, France 18.1pc and Germany down 29.3pc. Spain was the only inbound market which held close to the figures for January 2024.
The figures are 60pc behind pre-pandemic figures for January 2019, when a different measurement methodology was in use by the CSO.
