ETOA Research: Irish Tourism Survey June 2025
Demand for Ireland was booming in the United States during the main booking period October 2024-February 2025. Many ETOA members reported that they were anticipating another record year, exceeding 2019 in terms of volume and well ahead in terms of spend. This was particularly the case in those people who specialised in group tours, who made up the main bulk of respondents.
In March 2025 there was a noticeable drop off in demand; this may have been political, but was principally driven by a decline in the value of the dollar and extreme volatility in the Stock Market. Potential clients felt they had less money, and that the money was worth less.
This pattern of record bookings followed by a slackening of demand is shared throughout Europe.
But as most of the bookings for 2025 were taken before March, we do not anticipate a major shortfall in the numbers of clients arriving on scheduled group tours. Of concern are the FIT bookings, who have a shorter lead time.
In June 2025, we surveyed our buyer and supplier members involved in tourism to the Island of Ireland. The respondents brought over 500,000 visitors in 2024, with the vast majority of those being group travellers.
A weighted average by passenger volume suggests a 6% decline in the number of visitors in 2025 versus 2024, but smaller operators expect an increase in the number of bookings in 2025 .
Dublin was cited as the best performing destination by some margin, with Galway, Belfast and Killarney behind it.
Major challenges for Irish tourism are around
- High costs
- Travel barriers
- Accommodation shortages
- Infrastructure gaps
- Regional visitor imbalance
Key opportunities for tourism to the island of Ireland in the future are
- Diversified source markets
- Slow, immersive and off-the-beaten-path product development
- Food, drink and culinary tourism
- Niche and thematic tourism
- Extended seasonality