Latest news with #FáilteIreland
BreakingNews.ie
11 hours ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Tourism sector warns of US risks, price pressures and staff shortages
Fáilte Ireland has warned of growing concerns around Ireland's dependence on US visitors, as 'unorthodox policy decisions' in the United States fuel international uncertainty. Its April 2024 industry outlook report, designed to offer a 360-degree view of the sector, predicts 2025 to be a 'solid year' for Irish tourism, with room for further growth in 2026 and beyond. Advertisement However, the report flagged growing price sensitivity among tourists, tight profit margins for operators, and staffing shortages as major concerns facing the industry. It said: 'Consumers are becoming more value conscious as household saving rates are ticking upwards. We're seeing this in tourism via the declining length of stay witnessed in Ireland and elsewhere.' The research highlighted broader economic uncertainty, particularly due to political developments in the US. It said global growth was becoming more sluggish, while the outlook for the Irish economy remained 'modest, but positive'. Feedback from accommodation providers and visitor attractions pointed to value-for-money concerns among tourists, especially those from overseas. Many operators are operating on tight margins and are wary of passing on rising costs to customers. Advertisement 'Price resistance remains a challenge, with margins under pressure as cost increases can't be fully passed on to the end user,' the report said. 'Any price increases are likely to be in line with inflation.' Some hotels were said to be adjusting their rates downward after losing business due to high prices. Rising costs were cited by hoteliers as a growing issue. Operators also raised the issue of staffing shortages, particularly around retention and the increasing reliance on casual or part-time workers. Advertisement Investment in facilities and sustainability projects such as solar panels or space modernisation was being delayed by 'slow returns on investment and financial constraints', the report noted. 'Businesses face financial challenges, including high operational costs, VAT, and electricity expenses. Weather dependency and the impact of external factors on visitor numbers are also concerns,' it said. The report described a 'mixed' picture for accommodation providers, with some enjoying strong bookings while others struggled with 'low occupancy'. Nonetheless, there was strong capital investment last year, with an estimated €950 million worth of hotel and hostel transactions in 2023, a 170 per cent increase on the previous year. About 7,200 hotel, aparthotel and hostel bed spaces were under construction at the end of the year. The research said Dublin commanded a significantly higher 'price per key' with a room valued at €360,000 at one upmarket hotel in the capital compared to €134,000 for a similar hotel in Co Cavan. The DAA, which runs Dublin Airport, expected seat capacity to rise by 5 per cent this summer. Aer Lingus reported steady short-haul bookings and 10 per cent growth in long-haul traffic. Fáilte Ireland said it had no further comment to add to the report.
The Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
Golf tourists a major boost to Ireland's economy - spending three times more than the average
GOLF TOURISTS AND golf tourism is a major driver of growth for the Irish economy, AIB has said, with over 220,000 people visiting Ireland for the purpose annually – and spending an average of three times that of the non-golfing tourist. AIB has today published its Coach and Golf Tourism Outlook, which highlights the economic contribution of coach operators and golf tourism in Ireland. Golf tourism brings in an estimated €300m annually to the Irish economy, according to Fáilte Ireland. The 220,000 visitors have over 400 courses to choose from, it noted, as well as numerous high profile events on the horizon destined to bring in additional visitors. Advertisement The AIB report linked golf and coach tourism, as golf tourists from the US tend to favour 'extended trips and premium accommodation, often relying on coach access and pre-arranged group tours', it noted. The standard 'golf tourist' spends around three times that of the 'leisure tourist' on average, the report stated, citing Fáilte Ireland. Most of the spend is funnelled into local economies on non-golf related expenditure, such as accommodation, food, and beverages. Coach tourism was also reported to be on the up, with coach and bus registrations increasing by 70% in 2024. AIB said that the sector was still catching up on the slowdown caused by the pandemic and there were constraints on supply. It said that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor for coach operators 'looking to futureproof their fleet'. In the final quarter of last year, electric buses outsold diesel for the first time across Europe. Coach operators in Ireland are currently working towards alternatively powered vehicles and those with less emissions. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Fáilte Ireland says loss of tourist beds to refugees no longer critical
The number of tourism bedspaces contracted by the Government for refugees has fallen by more than 20% in the past six months. A report from Fáilte Ireland said the number of beds registered with the organisation that were contracted to the State fell to 14,030 in May. This represents a 20.4% drop from November and a 44.1% drop over the past year. A further 43,400 non-registered beds remain contracted to the State, with Fáilte Ireland estimating up to 21,700 of these would normally be used for tourism purposes. The tourism industry in Ireland has warned of long-term impacts from the use of large numbers of bed spaces for refugees. The sharp rise in refugee numbers in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw the issue peaking in late 2022, when one in four tourism beds were occupied by refugees or asylum seekers. Speaking in early 2023, Fáilte Ireland chief executive Paul Kelly said housing displaced Ukrainian citizens and international protection applicants in tourist accommodation was not a good solution for them or for tourism long term. He said ringfencing so much hotel accommodation for non-tourism purposes was putting the survival of some downstream businesses at risk. 'We estimate that this will cost the non-accommodation tourism sectors over €1bn in lost revenues this year," he said. "This will be a real loss, as we know, from inbound agents that many visitors who want to come to Ireland are now booking other countries simply because they cannot find accommodation in Ireland." The Fáilte Ireland report said the percentage of registered bedstock under State contract had fallen steadily from 12% to just below 6% nationally. However, four counties have 10% or more of their stock under contract: Wicklow, Clare, Meath and Louth. "For most counties, the impact on destinations has reduced significantly and is no longer at a critical level. However, some areas are still challenged in the peak season," the report states. Failte Ireland also said the 6% average may understate the impact, as many tourism beds are unregistered. A separate Fáilte Ireland survey report, published this week, found more than half of tourism businesses had seen their revenues drop this year, with 60% of operators blaming US president Donald Trump's "radical" economic policies for the downturn. Fálte Ireland's tourism barometer report shows revenue are down in every sector and region compared to last year, with B&Bs, self-catering operators, food and drink establishments, and tour guides being worst affected.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Loss of tourist beds due to housing asylum seekers 'no longer critical', report says
The loss of tourist beds due to the need to house international protection applicants and refugees from Ukraine is 'no longer critical,' according to new research by Fáilte Ireland. New figures show that more than 8,000 extra beds are believed to have come available again as tourist accommodation in the past six months, as the number used to house asylum seekers and refugees has decreased by 12 per cent over the same period. Advertisement The research revealed that the number of beds under State contract has now fallen to 5.7 per cent of all tourist accommodation registered with Fáilte Ireland across the country – down from 12 per cent two years ago. A report by Fáilte Ireland shows a total of 57,410 beds were occupied in May 2024 under contracts with the Government for housing refugees and asylum seekers – a decrease of 8,047 since November 2024. It shows a continuing downward trend in the need to use tourist accommodation to house non-tourists with the number of beds registered with Fáilte Ireland in use for housing asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees down 26 per cent in the past year. 'The impact on most destinations has reduced significantly and, in national terms, is no longer critical,' the report stated. Advertisement The latest figures, which are based on data from the Department of Justice, show 14,010 asylum seekers and refugees were housed in Fáilte Ireland registered properties last month – an annual decrease of 44 per cent. A further 43,400 were living in non-Fáilte Ireland registered facilities but which would have been providing accommodation for the tourism sector – a decrease of 17 per cent in the past year. Fáilte Ireland acknowledged that the figure of just under 6 per cent of all registered tourist beds being under State contract might understate the real impact of contracted beds on the availability of tourist accommodation. It pointed out that for every registered bed under contract there was one or more beds contracted in unregistered tourism relevant sites. Advertisement The latest figures also highlight that there are four countries where the registered bed stock unavailable for tourist accommodation remains in excess of 10 per cent. They are Wicklow (14 per cent); Clare (12 per cent); Meath (12 per cent) and Louth (10 per cent). The rate in other popular tourist destinations is varied including Cork (9 per cent), Mayo (7 per cent), Dublin (6 per cent), Kerry (5 per cent) and Galway (3 per cent). At one stage, 33 per cent of all Failte Ireland registered properties in Clare were being used to house asylum seekers and refugees. Advertisement However, the figure is now below 5 per cent in a majority of the 26 counties, while no Fáilte Ireland registered accommodation providers are under contract in Laois, Longford and Roscommon. 'For most counties, the impact on destinations has reduced significantly and is no longer at critical level,' the report stated. However, Fáilte Ireland acknowledged that some areas were still challenged in terms of providing tourist accommodation in the peak season. Last November, Fáilte Ireland estimated that the economic impact of the displaced bed stock on the tourism industry was between €400 million and €670 million. Advertisement Ireland Department of Health probing consultant 'productiv... Read More It had expressed concern that the unavailability of some tourism accommodation was limiting the industry's ability to meet demand from domestic and overseas tourists, while also leading to higher prices due to a 'supply-demand imbalance.' Fáilte Ireland said the issue highlighted again the importance of having a fully inclusive register of tourist accommodation. A proposed Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill by the Government is due to require properties for short-term tourist lettings that are advertised on platforms like Airbnb to be registered with Fáilte Ireland. Such platforms will also be obliged to only advertise properties which have a valid registration number from Fáilte Ireland.
BreakingNews.ie
24-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Majority of tourism businesses 'seriously concerned' about impact of Trump policies
Tourism businesses in Ireland have expressed serious concern about the impact of Donald Trump's trade policies on the sector as more than half have experienced a drop of revenue during the first four months of 2025, according to a new report by Fáilte Ireland. It revealed that the US president and the global economy was the main concern of businesses in the tourism industry and cited by 60 per cent of all respondents ahead of other concerns including rising costs, the VAT rate and staffing issues. The survey commissioned by the national tourism development authority found that 51 per cent of businesses have recorded a fall in income so far in 2025 with 23 per cent saying revenue is largely unchanged. Advertisement Only 26 per cent of businesses have reported an increase in income, according to the findings of the latest 'tourism barometer' report by Fáilte Ireland. The report, which surveyed the views of 834 tourism businesses including 282 accommodation providers at the end of April, said President Trump's economic policies have 'raised the industry's challenges to a new level.' It found revenue was down across every sector and region generally including 74 per cent of B&Bs, 62 per cent of self-catering accommodation providers, 58 per cent of restaurants, bars and other food and drink businesses and 56 per cent of tour guides. The report found respondents attributed the dip in performance to a lack of disposable income among consumers combined with a lack of affordable tourist accommodation. Advertisement However, they claimed the situation has been compounded by the global economic uncertainty which has arisen from the economic policies of Trump. Businesses across various sectors in the tourism industry said this has led to some cancellations of trips by US tourists and a lack of forward booking from them due to concerns about their income as well as how they are perceived abroad. Fáilte Ireland warned that the tourism industry's reliance on the North American market 'may be an exposure' and that tourism businesses in Ireland are now feeling the effects of levels of business from US tourists slipping back. It claimed many respondents felt the full impact of such a trend would only be felt in 2026. Advertisement However, Fáilte Ireland said the findings of the latest survey need to be placed in the context that 2024 was a strong year for Irish tourism including a 15 per cent increase in spending by domestic tourists and a 9 per cent increase in spending by overseas visitors. It claimed such strong results may have raised expectations for this year, although the results of the first quarter of 2025 have been 'relatively weak' due to a number of factors including bad weather and a reduction in air access during the winter season due to the cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport. Fáilte Ireland accepted that there has been a flat start to the current year across a range of performance indicators including air access capacity, hotel occupancy, flight searches for Ireland all relatively unchanged on 2024 levels. At the same time, it stressed that overall demand from all sectors was not as weak as some information sources suggest. Advertisement Some tourism representative groups have questioned figures published by the Central Statistics Office which stated the number of overseas visitors was down 18 per cent in the first four months of 2025, claiming they did not reflect business levels experienced within the industry. Fáilte Ireland acknowledged that business sentiment was more negative for some tourism service providers than performance indicators would suggest. However, it claimed such a trend could be due to elevated expectations from last year's strong outturn and a run of 'bad news' including ongoing cost pressures, the cap on passengers at Dublin Airport, a flurry of last-minute cancellations due to storms in January as well as international trade tensions and downgraded economic forecasts. Fáilte Ireland said there were still plenty of positives for Irish tourism including a 7 per cent increase in air access during the summer season which it claimed was often the best predictor of inbound tourism demand. Advertisement Ireland Over 300,000 people attend events in Dublin city l... Read More Despite the slow start to the year, the report shows that 26 per cent of businesses said income will be ahead of last year with another 30 per cent predicting it will be on a par with revenue levels in 2024. It found that some tourism service providers have managed to grow their revenue so far in 2025 including 38 per cent of hotels and 36 per cent of activity providers. However, many businesses, particularly hotels, attractions and activity providers, feel reliant on domestic holidaymakers claiming they offer the best hope this year and claim a summer of fine weather would really help. The report said challenging market conditions were being experienced across the whole country including in Dublin which often performs better than the other regions.
