ITIC’s €340 Million Spending Plan
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation is seeking the lifting of the Dublin Airport passenger cap, increased Government spending, and the restoration of the 9% hospitality VAT rate in order to boost tourism in the country, which it said is at a "tipping point".
In its Budget submission, ITIC warns of "double-digit" declines in tourists coming to Ireland and that the country is overdependent on US visitors.
"2025 has been a challenging year," said ITIC Chief Executive Eoghan O'Mara Walsh. "The North American market has been strong, but other markets, unfortunately, are soft. Great Britain, Continental Europe and even the domestic market are soft."
ITIC wants to see annual Government spending on tourism services increased by €90 million to around €340 million.
This funding, it said, would support a market diversification strategy to reduce the reliance on American tourists. That would include looking to boost the number of visitors coming here from Britain and Germany.
Mr O'Mara Walsh said Ireland will not be able to compete on price with the Mediterranean countries, but it must work to maintain its value.
"Recent Eurostat statistics showed that Ireland was the second most expensive country in the EU - so that obviously finds its way through to restaurant bills, pub bills, hotel bills," he said. "What's key is that we maintain our value proposition and, thankfully, the surveys to date say Ireland still maintains its value proposition, but it's certainly under pressure.
"It's vital that we, as an industry, maintain the quality of our product."
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