The Irish tourism industry is facing ‘a perfect storm’ of cost increases and capacity constraints, according to the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC).
At its flagship annual conference, the ITIC called on the government to match the industry’s ambition for the sector.
‘Biggest Regional Employer’
“Tourism is the country’s largest indigenous industry and biggest regional employer, and it is having a tough time,” said Niall MacCarthy, chair of the ITIC.
“Intelligence by ITIC shows the tourism industry is still 6% off its pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, costs have soared and profitability is seriously damaged.”
Challenging Year
ITIC pointed to a number of recent data releases, which show how ‘challenging’ the year has been for tourism.
The latest CSO inbound-tourism statistics for Britain, Ireland’s largest volume market, show arrivals down by 12%, while a summer barometer survey of businesses by Fáilte Ireland found that 64% of respondents expect profitability to be down this year, compared to last.
‘Passenger Cap’
“We don’t yet know the implications of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport,” said Catherine Flanagan, CEO of the Association of Visitor Experiences & Attractions.
“It is very concerning when we hear that airlines requesting slots for next year are being declined.”
Umbrella Group
The ITIC was founded in 1984, as the umbrella group representing the leading tourism interests in Ireland.
Its members come from key tourism stakeholders across the public and private sectors and include Aer Lingus, Irish Ferries, DAA, the Shannon Group, the Irish Hotels Federation, the Inbound Tourism Operators’ Association, the Guinness Storehouse, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, and the Association of Visitor Experiences & Attractions, among others.
