Fáilte Ireland has unveiled ambitious plans to drive sustainable tourism development across Ireland at its annual industry briefing.
The National Tourism Development Authority unveiled its 2025 plans at a special virtual event for the tourism industry. The event was opened by newly appointed Minister for Tourism Peter Burke TD and watched online by over 2,000 tourism operators, providers, and employers from across the sector.
A robust programme of initiatives is at the heart of these plans, designed to support tourism businesses in driving revenue and maintaining competitiveness, ensuring the continued growth and sustainability of Ireland’s tourism industry.
Key components include supporting the sustainable and authentic development of year-round destinations throughout Ireland, highlighting the diverse tourism offerings across the country to boost domestic travel and new plans to strengthen the business tourism sector.
Additionally, Fáilte Ireland has invested €14.5m in 11 new tourism projects set to be completed across the country this year. These projects leverage Ireland’s rich heritage, history, and natural landscapes to attract visitors.
Recognising the importance of festivals and events as key motivators for off-peak travel, Fáilte Ireland will continue supporting key festivals across the year including New Year’s Festival Dublin, St Patrick’s Festival Dublin, 6 regional St. Patrick’s Day festivals and Púca in Co. Meath.
In addition, Fáilte Ireland will invest €600,000 in a programme of events across various regions of Ireland that will establish the month of October as a time to visit Ireland and experience the authentic Home of Halloween.
As part of its ongoing commitment to growth, Fáilte Ireland’s plans for 2025 focus on helping businesses grow revenue as they continue to face cost pressures. This will be done through business supports focussed on four strategic areas (climate, digitisation, people & performance and commercial resilience), a full programme of sales opportunities, and the continued roll out of a business tourism strategy to attract more business events to Ireland. There is also a robust programme of domestic marketing activity planned, aimed at spreading visitors across the regions beyond the busy summer months.
As part of the online session, Fáilte Ireland shared its latest research on the tourism industry’s performance in 2024 as well as expectations for 2025. Outlook for the year ahead was positive among respondents with 39% of businesses expecting their visitor levels to be up in 2025, and 42% expecting volumes to remain the same as last year. However, cost pressures continue to dominate concerns, especially ‘energy’ (cited by 57%) and ‘payroll’ (56%).
Commenting on the briefing, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said: “Fáilte Ireland’s plans outline an ambitious programme of work to deliver for visitors and communities across the country. Tourism is a key economic driver, and crucial for employment particularly in rural areas. In line with our new Programme for Government, these robust plans look to create a balanced regional spread of tourism, develop long-term, sustainable, well-paid careers in the industry, enhance our tourism infrastructure and support the sustainable growth of this sector. I look forward to working with my Department, Fáilte Ireland and the wider tourism industry over the coming years to champion tourism and support the sustainable development of the sector for the benefit of our economy, our communities, our industry, and our visitors.”
During the briefing the National Tourism Development Authority welcomed the 7.6% increase in tourism beds available due to the cessation of government contracts and the opening of new accommodation capacity as positive for tourism.
Commenting on the plans, Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said: “While we acknowledge the significant cost and profitability challenges facing the tourism sector, we are starting the year on a positive note. The tourism sector in Ireland is now offering the greatest choice of things to see and do, providing a wider range of accommodation options and attractions that make Ireland an even more attractive holiday destination for both international and domestic visitors.
“However, we are facing a year where visitor access capacity hasn’t grown as fast as the capacity to host visitors and profitability will be the key concern for businesses. This will likely require individual businesses to be as competitive as possible to attract both domestic and overseas business. The plans we are unveiling today are designed to help tourism businesses do just that. Our investments in capital projects, marketing, and festivals across the country will drive visitors directly to destinations and into businesses. Additionally, our comprehensive range of support measures will be tailored to help the industry address its most pressing challenges.”
Specific online briefings for each of Fáilte Ireland’s regional experience brands – Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, Dublin and the Wild Atlantic Way will take place on Thursday 27th February.
Projects due for completion in 2025 include:
- Dublin Castle Records Tower, Dublin – A new lift will be installed, granting visitors access to the top of the historic tower, offering panoramic views and include a new museum showcasing Dublin’s medieval treasures.
- The Little Museum of Dublin, Dublin – Enhancements will make the museum universally accessible, and will include new exhibitions and a new lift installation.
- Dún Aonghasa, Inis Mór, Galway– Redevelopment of the visitor centre will tell the compelling story of survival, focusing on climate change and the island’s ancient inhabitants. A series of satellite interpretation hubs will further enhance the visitor experience.
- Carrowmore, Co Sligo – Strengthening its link to the Céide Fields in Co. Mayo, this project will include a new immersive exhibition, positioning Carrowmore as a hub for Neolithic exploration in the region.
- New Farm Trail, Connemara National Park, Galway – The first phase of trail development will open a previously inaccessible part of the park, alleviating pressure on existing trails.
- Bray Head Signature Discovery Point, Kerry – A transformed Signal Tower will feature a new viewing platform with views of the Skelligs.
- Outdoor Water Sports Facilities – The first four of nineteen new water sports facilities will be completed in 2025 in Curracloe (Wexford), Ballycuggaran (Clare), Acres Lake (Leitrim), and Fenit (Kerry), enhancing Ireland’s status as a premier activity destination.
- Mountain Biking Expansion – Nearly 200km of new and upgraded trails will be developed, with additional facilities to enhance the mountain biking experience.
- Festivals: In 2025 Fáilte Ireland will launch a new investment programme for festivals. As part of a tri-agency group comprising of Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland will complete a strategy and action plan to position Ireland as the authentic Home of Halloween. Fáilte Ireland will invest €600k in 2025 to establish a programme of events across various regions of Ireland throughout October. This initiative aims to establish Ireland as the ultimate destination to experience Halloween in its authentic form. The Púca festival in Co. Meath will be flagship event of the proposition.
- EU Just Transition: Under the EU Just Transition Investment Scheme, €68million has been secured for regenerative tourism and placemaking, benefiting businesses and communities affected by the transition away from peat production. To date, over €38 million approved for 48 high visitor impact regenerative tourism projects and 70 digital projects across 8 counties in the Midlands through the EU Just Transition Fund.
