- Tourism Ireland deepened tourism from the United States and Great Britain while rolling out a new strategy for Mainland Europe.
- The organisation invested in growth markets such as Canada and prepared long-term partnerships in India and China.
- Co-operative campaigns with air and sea carriers drove demand for strategic routes delivering 15:1 return on investment.
Tourism Ireland launched its 2026 marketing strategy and plans at an event attended by Tourism Minister Peter Burke and over 600 industry leaders.
The organisation targeted overseas tourism revenue growth to over €10 billion annually by 2031 with appropriate strategic supports. Visitor numbers and spend softened compared to 2024 but stabilised relative to 2023 amid challenges such as economic uncertainty and the Dublin Airport passenger cap. Growth accelerated from August onwards with consecutive monthly visitor increases. Tourism Ireland planned extensive targeted promotional activity across 15 key overseas markets in 2026.
Tourism Ireland promotes the island through advertising publicity digital social and Gen AI channels focused on culinary tourism activity tourism year-round travel and regional exploration from gateways. New broadcast TV and streaming shows co-produced by Tourism Ireland reached millions of viewers worldwide including series featuring Ronan Keating Martin and Roman Kemp Dermot O’Leary and Fred Sirieix.
Peter Burke Tourism Minister shared “The transfer of the tourism portfolio into the heart of the Department of Enterprise last year underscores the importance of the sector as a key economic driver and employer and one of our most vital indigenous industries.”
Alice Mansergh Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland shared “Tourism is a key indigenous industry across this island supporting jobs across regions and introducing around 8 million overseas visitors per year to all our island offers. Overseas visitors spent over €6 billion in 2025 and we’ll be targeting growth to over €10 billion by 2031 supporting the Minister’s strategy ‘A new era for Irish Tourism’.”
