Visitor numbers to Ireland’s leading visitor attractions remain below pre-Covid levels, latest research by the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA) shows.
The findings show numbers are still almost 5 million people behind what they were before the pandemic crisis brought tourism to a standstill.
The new figures show that 18.1 million visitors took in an Irish visitor experience or attraction in 2023. While significantly above the 2022 total, it remained well below the 22.9 million visits recorded in 2019, the last year before the Covid crisis.
However, AVEA members noted that it was a strong performance given that Ireland’s inbound tourist numbers in 2023 were still about 35% below that recorded in 2019, showing that the domestic visitor market is hugely valuable for AVEA members.
AVEA chief executive Catherine Flanagan said: “There is no doubt that, while the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror, we are still in a period of transition. 2023 was considered the first ‘full’ year of tourism where aviation connectivity was restored to pre-pandemic levels; however, the ‘staycation’ market segment is still one that is of vital importance to Ireland’s visitor attractions.”
However, current data for the 2024 tourism season highlights concerning visitor levels in the current season; CSO data for July 2024 revealed that international bed-nights fell 350,000, or 6%, when compared with the previous year, while travel data also shows a jump in travel from Ireland to European hotspots, with visitor numbers from Ireland to Spain alone up by 18% year on year.
Ms Flanagan said: “We are all aware that there has been a huge disruption to the tourism accommodation sector in recent years, with more uncertainty on the horizon as the legislation around short-term letting is framed. Visitor attractions this year have felt the harsh impact of many factors, including the lack of accommodation availability at a range of prices, coupled with a summer of poor weather, and shorter stays by overseas visitors.”
AVEA member visitor attractions employ over 6,400 people and generated an estimated €362m in revenues in 2023, a very high proportion of which flowed into their local economies in wages and purchasing of goods and services. Staff costs account for the largest share of operating costs at 49%, a proportion that is forecast to increase significantly as the ripple effect of successive changes to wage legislation take hold.
Ms Flanagan said: “Benchmarked internationally, Irish visitor attractions provide excellent value for money, and it is clear from our findings that our 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.”
In a bid to tackle issues head-on and work towards providing the best experience for visitors, the industry will come together at the seventh annual AVEA conference which will take place in Kilkenny from October 13th to 15th 2024. The owners and operators of Ireland’s leading visitor attractions will gather to discuss how the industry can drive further visitor numbers and future-proof their businesses under the theme of ‘Innovation – Agility – Inclusion’.
