The value of overseas visitors to Ireland in 2024 can grow beyond the €5.3 billion recorded this year but accommodation and airport capacity constraints could put the brakes on expansion, the umbrella group representing the sector has warned.
The assessment from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) suggests that the sector, which employed 254,000 people this year, continues to be robust despite the cost of living crisis at home and geopolitical events taking place overseas.
The umbrella group estimated that €5.3 billion will have been spent by international visitors to Ireland by the time the midnight bells chime on New Year’s Eve.
It also suggested that growth of 5 per cent in real terms was possible next year. That would see the value of the sector climbing to close to €5.6 billion with the North American market offering the best prospects for growth.
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ITIC expressed concern over tourism accommodation constraints suggesting they were “a handbrake on growth with 20 per cent of hotel and guest house beds contracted to Government for refugees and asylum seekers and new short-term rental legislation likely to impact on self-catering properties”.
The tourism body also called for Dublin Airport to be allowed grow beyond its current passenger cap.
“The Irish tourism and hospitality industry has once again proved its resilience – it is vital to regional Ireland in particular providing livelihoods and economic activity where other sectors simply can’t reach,” said the ITIC chairwoman Elaina Fitzgerald Kane.
She said that with the “right market mix” there could be further revenue growth in 2024 however she highlighted that there could be an element of frustrated demand due to capacity and competitiveness concerns.
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She pointed to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine as events that could impact on consumer confidence.
“Government cannot influence international events but the challenges affecting the industry domestically do lie in their gift,” she said. “Action is needed on ameliorating cost challenges, addressing capacity concerns and improving competitiveness and this will all help Ireland’s tourism and hospitality industry to continue on its path to full recovery.”
The chief executive of ITIC, Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, said that businesses are concerned as a result of rising costs due to Government legislation.
“The labour costs alone being imposed on businesses across the economy amount to about €4 billion annually – this poses a significant burden for SMEs with tight profit margins and some of these costs should be offset by Government or else Irish competitiveness will be further eroded,” he said.
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