July numbers confirm flat summer for Irish Tourism Industry

The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) today publishes its July Dashboard showing a mixed performance for the sector compared to the same month last year. CSO numbers outline a 1% decline in international visitors during July although visitors from US and Canada were up 13%. Overall visitor spend was down 4% with the number of nights tourists spent in the country down 4%. Airport traffic had a strong month while the accommodation sector showed a marginal increase in occupancy levels.

Commenting on the July Dashboard Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of ITIC, said “Irish tourism and hospitality businesses continue to have a mixed season. July is a key month for Irish tourism and while it is positive that the North American market performed strongly, other markets are softer. We need to spread demand across other source markets and gain more traction in European markets.”

O’Mara Walsh went on to say that “Cost of business pressures and capacity constraints continue to hamper the industry and we hope that these are addressed on Budget Day. With unprecedented macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty now is the time to support a key home-grown indigenous industry such as tourism”.

ITIC have welcomed the fact that CSO monthly numbers are now more aligned with industry data.