August was the first month in 2025 in which more people visited Ireland than in the same month last year, according to new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures, adding to mounting evidence of the tourism industry’s struggles this year.
The data comes as the trade body for tourist attraction operators prepares for its annual conference in Waterford next month.
In advance of the event, the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (Avea) said two-thirds of its members are reporting flat or reduced visitor numbers in the year so far.
The body is calling for “urgent” action from the Government “in advance of Budget 2026″.
RM Block
Avea wants targeted support for SMEs to “offset the cost of doing business”, along with an extension of the 9 per cent VAT rate to attraction admissions.
[ Why is Ireland’s hospitality industry feeling taken for granted?Opens in new window ]
The organisation said it recorded 19.2 million annual visitors in the seven months to the end of July, short of pre-pandemic levels of almost 23 million in 2019.
Meanwhile, the latest CSO figures reveal that 772,800 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in August, an increase of 1 per cent when compared with the same month in 2024 and an increase of 5 per cent compared with August 2023.
The number of US and Canadian visitors increased by 4 per cent, while British and European visits declined amid economic headwinds.
However, the average length of stay for overnight visitors was 8.6 nights, down from an average of 8.7 nights in August 2024 and 9.9 nights in August 2023.
Visitors stayed a total of 6.7 million nights, unchanged from last August but down 9 per cent from 2023.
Total visitor spend also slumped by 9 per cent year-on-year to €744 million, the CSO said.
[ Beef or salmon? A disappearing menu choice as restaurateurs battle rising pricesOpens in new window ]
Citing previous CSO figures, Avea said the international visitor numbers were down 11 per cent to the end of July, with visitor spend down 14.75 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Shorter lengths of stay are a “contributing factor”, it said.
“Visitor attractions, particularly those in the regions, are highly seasonal, and we will face quite a challenging autumn/winter when we combine a flat summer season with rising operating costs,” said Catherine Flanagan, Avea chief executive.
Kate English, chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, said the fall-off in visitors this year comes after a “bumper year in 2024″.
August “slightly bucks the trend”, she said, with the Oasis concert in Croke Park and the College Football Classic in the Aviva Stadium possibly factoring into the 1 per cent increase in visitor numbers.
