The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has expressed serious concerns about an ongoing drop in expenditure by overseas visitors according to the latest CSO statistics for inbound tourism. Figures show a drop in expenditure of 6% in June compared to last year following an already weak performance year to date.
The CSO said 654,500 people visited Ireland in June of this year – down 2% on the same month last year. While the average number of nights-stayed was up, at 7.9; visitor spend was down 6%, year-on-year, at €647m.
IHF Chief Executive Paul Gallagher said: “While our own industry data indicates that occupancy rates for hotels are on a par with last year, we are seeing a softening in revenue and room prices. This appears to be part of a wider decline in tourism spend so far this year as indicated by recent CSO figures.
“If this weakness continues throughout the summer, it would pose a very significant challenge for tourism businesses nationwide that are already struggling under unsustainable increases in operating costs. This is at a time when we are experiencing difficult headwinds on a number of other fronts, including economic challenges across our key source markets, increased political uncertainty internationally and the fallout from EU/US tariffs – all of which threaten Irish tourism.”
Mr Gallagher noted that recent research by Fáilte Ireland shows that 51% of tourism businesses have seen a decrease in revenues to date in 2025 compared with last year. Results indicate that overseas visitor spend, which typically accounts for 70% of tourism revenue, is a significant concern. This is particularly challenging for ‘Food & Drink’ businesses, with 75% reporting a drop in overseas revenue so far this year.
Tourism at a Glance
As Ireland’s largest indigenous employer, a vibrant and thriving tourism and hospitality industry is vital for the country’s economic well-being:
- 270,000 livelihoods supported by Irish tourism & hospitality
- 69,000 people directly employed by Irish hotels & guesthouses
- Regional employment – some 70% of tourism & hospitality jobs are outside of Dublin
- €10bn in revenue generated by tourism annually for the economy
- Over €2.9bn in taxes generated annually for the State by tourism-related activity
