In February, total visitor spend in Ireland fell to €196m, a drop of over 30% from the previous year, exacerbated by a drop in passenger numbers and a winter seat limit at Dublin Airport. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation expressed concerns about a 'soft start' to the year but noted that the scale of decline may not be as severe as reported. He indicated that while the US tourism market remains robust, Britain and Europe face challenges affecting their travel to Ireland.
"We are keen to know a little bit more about how the numbers were accounted for in January and February because while it's a soft start to the year, it's nothing on that scale."
"But the cap at Dublin Airport means there's an automatic restriction on arrivals, so that is bound to have had an impact."
"There is great transatlantic air access scheduled for the year from Aer Lingus, for example, so we would still hope for a strong tourism season from the US and Canada."
"But other markets - Britain and Europe - are likely to be soft, because their economies are in a bit of trouble. We are more concerned about them."
Collection
[
|
...
]