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    Tourism Chiefs Express Concerns Over Latest Slump in Visitor Spending Levels

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    By Geoff Percival,Stephen Aherne

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    Tourism Chiefs Express Concerns Over Latest Slump in Visitor Spending Levels

    Tourism chiefs have expressed concern over latest figures showing a severe drop in tourist visitor spend in Ireland towards the end of the summer.

    New monthly figures from the Central Statistics Agency (CSO) show a year-on-year increase of just 1% – to 772,800 – in inbound visitors to Ireland in August; but a huge 9% drop in visitor spend to €744m.

    IHF Chief Executive Paul Gallagher said: “Despite hopes for a reversal in this trend during the peak summer months, the situation has continued to deteriorate. We have continued to see a softening in revenue year on year. This is part of a worrying decline in wider visitor spend throughout our tourism industry, as indicated by recent CSO figures.

    “Tourism businesses the length and breadth of the country now find themselves operating under an increasingly challenging environment while struggling to deal with unsustainable increases in business costs. It is now essential that the Government takes decisive action to put Irish tourism and hospitality on a more stable footing.

    “One crucial step would be to restore the 9% VAT rate for food-related services. This measure would provide much-needed assistance to struggling businesses, which collectively support over 270,000 livelihoods and contribute significantly to the economy. Importantly, more than 70% of these roles are outside Dublin, making our industry a key driver of regional employment, economic diversification and rural development. Given the enormous challenges facing hospitality food businesses, it is vital that a reduction in the VAT rate is implemented from the start of January 2026.”

    Commenting on the August data Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), said: “August is a key month for the Irish tourism industry. Demand is mixed from key source markets and costs of business continue to squeeze profit margins so Budget 2026 next week is particularly important”.

    One positive point in August’s data was a 21%, year-on-year, increase in North American (USA and Canada) visitors.

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