Visitor numbers to Ireland’s top tourist attractions in 2023 reached 18.1m, a significant increase from 2022 but still nearly fivem short of the pre-pandemic figure of 22.9m in 2019, according to a survey by AVEA.
Despite the restoration of aviation connectivity, the Irish tourism sector continues to rely heavily on the “staycation” market, while emerging data for 2024 shows concerning trends, including a 6pc drop in international bed nights in July compared to the previous year.
The visitor attractions generated approximately €362m in revenue in 2023, employing over 6,400 staff; however, rising costs, including a 12pc increase in insurance premiums and changes to wage legislation, are putting financial pressure on the industry.
The upcoming AVEA conference in Kilkenny from October 13 to 15 where owners and operators will gather to discuss how the industry can drive further visitor numbers and future-proof their businesses under the theme of ‘Innovation – Agility – Inclusion,’ , with calls for government support to reduce the VAT rate to 9pc and to mitigate the financial burdens faced by tourism businesses.
Catherine Flanagan said “Irish visitor attractions provide excellent value for money but the median yield is extremely modest. Our challenge, as year-round businesses that operate in a highly seasonal sector, is to increase visitor numbers year-round, and external factors are making this extremely difficult. Costs are up significantly. The current VAT rate exacerbates this and it is certainly proving to be a barrier for our sector.
“We are dealing with increased costs of doing business on all fronts which must be balanced against the value proposition that attractions can offer to visitors living in a ‘cost of living’ crisis.”
“We will be lobbying Government for more support in the upcoming budget, to recognise the accelerated costs of business, for the VAT rate to be reduced to 9pc, for the economic value of tourism to be recognised, and for access blockages to be addressed.”
