€127m slump in tourist spending in May "part of ongoing trend"

But, worryingly, excluding plane and ferry tickets, visitors spent €127 million less, with the €477m total down by more than a fifth compared with May last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Tourism Ireland put the spending slump down to 2024 being a "strong year". But restaurateurs are "deeply concerned" about the decline as the industry relies heavily on a strong summer tourist season.

Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) chief Adrian Cummins said: "As we enter peak season, businesses are finding trading conditions challenging and margins eroded. The RAI is calling for a VAT reduction to 9% for food service and a review of employers’ PRSI for labour-intensive sectors like hospitality and retail. A new food tourism strategy is urgently required for Ireland."

Hoteliers also expressed "serious concerns" about figures which "indicate an ongoing drop in expenditure by overseas visitors, with figures for May down 21% compared to last year".

Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president Michael Magner said: "The decline in tourism spend is part of an ongoing trend this year. Our primary fear is if this continues into the summer, it could have a very significant negative impact. This would pose an enormous challenge for tourism businesses, which are already struggling under unsustainable increases in operating costs."

He said there is still a "disparity between published figures and industry data", but May figures are more in line with what businesses are reporting.

He said: "Our figures indicate hotel room occupancy levels are holding steady so far this year compared with 2024. It conceals significant challenges around business margins due to already exceptionally high business costs, which continue to rise while revenues remain flat. These challenges are reflected right across our tourism industry at a time when we must remain vigilant to other difficult headwinds."

A Tourism Ireland spokesman said May "typically represents around 10% of total annual spend, January to May represents around 33%".

They added: "2024 was a strong year, with tourism from overseas worth more than €6 billion, up by almost €600m compared to 2023. Island-wide, inclusive of NI, overseas visitors brought around €7bn to the economy last year.

"There are longer-term headwinds to take account of – including geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, which can lead to consumers weighing up their holiday choices...

"The aviation industry is investing in Ireland, given there will be 6% more air seat capacity on routes this summer versus last summer, 10% more from North America, a key market, with new routes like Detroit, Nashville and Indianapolis opening up, as well as new European routes like Stuttgart to Dublin and Bilbao to Cork."

Some 560,500 visitors, who spent an average of €1,186 including fares, came to Ireland in May, down 10% on last May but up 2% on May 2023.

Travel expert Eoghan Corry said: "At the moment we’re bulletproof; no matter what happens in Ireland, our image is so strong, thanks to the likes of rom-com 'Irish Wish' with Lindsay Lohan and Netflix, and all of that huge imagery, it’s got millions of views."

* This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.