A total of 737,600 international visitors came to Ireland in August, according to latest figures from the CSO and the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC).
However, although inbound visitor numbers were up on July, huge challenges to Ireland’s domestic and inbound tourism model persist, according to ITIC – with the group highlighting soaring business costs and reduced tourism accommodation supply as issues that are continually dampening performance.
Of the 737,600 international visitors who came to Ireland during August, 259,900 came from Britain, 165,300 from North America, 273,500 from Continental Europe, and 39,000 from the Rest of the World. North American visitors were the highest spending market accounting for over €375m during the month with Continental Europe close behind spending just under €364m.
Challenges facing tourism include ongoing geopolitical tensions, cost of living and interest rate pressures on disposable incomes, together with the threat of a cap on passenger traffic through Dublin Airport in 2024 and 2025, the country’s primary gateway for international tourists.
Although the CSO’s new methodology of collecting airport and port data means that direct comparisons with 2019 are difficult to make, there is enough evidence to point to the fact that tourism’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels has some way to go, ITIC said.
