Commenting on today’s CSO statistics for inbound tourism, Paul Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation states that the published figures for overseas visitors continue to be out of kilter with industry data on the ground, including figures from hotels which are reporting a strong performance for room bookings year to date.

“The latest industry figures show that hotels achieved average room occupancies in March on a par with the same month last year while bookings for the first quarter were up 2% year on year. From an industry perspective, this would suggest that overall tourism activity is holding up so far in 2025, which is at odds with what the CSO figures would appear to be indicating.”

“This is a concern given how vital it is to have as complete a picture as possible for how tourism, our largest indigenous industry, is performing. Along with industry partners, we have met with representatives of the CSO to explore the figures in the context of wider industry data, and we look forward to further engagement on this matter.”

In a given year, the first quarter would typically account for approximately 20% of overseas visitors to Ireland and a corresponding proportion of total hotel stays – made up of both domestic and overseas guests. Commenting on the outlook for rest of the year, Mr Gallagher says: “While industry figures show a positive start to the year, we are beginning to see a slight softening in the market with forward bookings currently down 2% out to August. We are hopeful that this will pick up into the summer.”

“We are, however, very alert to various headwinds facing our sector, including the impact of global political and economic uncertainty which we continue to monitor closely. This is in the broader context of a very high-cost base within the Irish economy, restrictions at Dublin Airport, falling consumer sentiment and financial pressures in key source markets – all of which are weighing on our sector and wider tourism industry.”

---

Tourism at a Glance

As Ireland’s largest indigenous employer, a vibrant and thriving tourism and hospitality industry is vital for the country’s economic well-being:

• 270,000 livelihoods supported by Irish tourism & hospitality
• 66,000 people directly employed by Irish hotels & guesthouses
• Regional employment – some 70% of tourism & hospitality jobs are outside of Dublin
• €10bn in revenue generated by tourism annually for the economy
• Over €2.9bn in taxes generated annually for the State by tourism-related activity

---

IHF Member Hotels & Guesthouses and tourism industry partners can submit news stories for inclusion by emailing us at hotelnews@ihf.ie