Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
141. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his assessment of the prospects for tourism in Ireland in 2026, especially in relation to visitors from North America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30059/26]
View answerThe Government is acutely aware that geopolitical instability, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, can have implications for international travel and tourism.
Tourism is a vital part of Ireland’s economy with overseas visitors contributing approximately €6 billion annually to the island, and the sector supports close to 10% of total employment. Crucially, around six in every ten tourism jobs depend directly on international visitors.
However, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has altered the operating environment for tourism, underscoring the need for continued vigilance and a flexible, responsive approach to supporting the sector amid heightened global uncertainty as the year progresses. Notwithstanding these challenges, the sector entered the year with positive momentum. There were consecutive months of growth in overseas visitors from August through to February, the latest period reported by the CSO, indicating that tourism was performing strongly prior to the escalation of the conflict.
Building on the new National Tourism Policy Statement, A New Era for Irish Tourism, which aims to grow overseas tourism revenue to €9 billion and domestic tourism revenue to €5.8 billion by 2031, Tourism Ireland launched its 2026 marketing plans in January. These plans outline a comprehensive strategy to achieve the overseas tourism revenue figure through diversified market growth, enhanced strategic partnerships and an expanded programme of promotional activity.
Tourism Ireland continues to take a forward-looking approach to market development, with a wide range of promotional activity planned throughout the year. Central to this work is a clear focus on resilience and diversification. Even prior to recent geopolitical developments, the Government’s Action Plan on Market Diversification launched in August 2025, sets out a series of targeted initiatives to identify and cultivate new opportunities within Europe and globally, ensuring that Irish tourism businesses remain competitive and future-ready.
To achieve this, Tourism Ireland has set in motion the groundwork to avoid any over reliance on any single market to better future proof the industry and will deliver extensive marketing activity across 15 key overseas markets. While maintaining strong performance in the United States and Great Britain, the highest spend and highest volume markets respectively, Tourism Ireland is increasing its marketing investment and partnerships in Mainland Europe, building Canada as a key growth market, and laying the foundation for long-term growth in markets such as China.
The growing network of new air routes from the United States enhances marketing potential. Tourism Ireland continues to undertake extensive advertising, publicity, social and digital activity along with airline and tour operator partnerships. Tourism Ireland's 'kickstart' campaign earlier this year covered 19 US states.
The funding allocated to Tourism Ireland in Budget 2026 will support the pursuit of these fresh growth opportunities. It will enable the organisation to expand strategic source markets and focus on attracting “value-adding visitors” whose spending delivers tangible benefits to tourism enterprises and local communities across the country.
At the same time, there are indications that Western Europe and the island of Ireland may benefit from being viewed by travellers as alternatives to more disrupted regions. Tourism Ireland has recently completed an in-depth appraisal of Mainland European markets and is implementing a new strategy designed to deliver a step-change in visitor revenue from these important markets. The scale of opportunity is reflected in recent CSO data that showed that in February 2026, the largest share of visitors came from Great Britain (43%), followed by Continental Europe (40%). When compared with February 2025, visitor numbers increased significantly across both regions, with growth of 16% from Great Britain and 55% from Continental Europe.
While the conflict in the Middle East presents real and evolving challenges for global tourism, Ireland’s tourism agencies are proactively responding by diversifying source markets, strengthening international connectivity, and delivering targeted, high-impact marketing campaigns. The Government will continue to monitor developments closely and to support the sector in sustaining resilience and competitiveness amid an uncertain global environment.
