My Department’s primary responsibility in the tourism sector is the development of policy. In December 2025, I launched A New Era for Irish Tourism, the Government’s new tourism policy framework to 2031. This ambitious and forward-looking policy sets out a clear vision for increasing visitor numbers, tourism revenue and employment, while ensuring balanced regional development and supporting sustainable growth across all parts of the country.
Tourism Ireland, the organisation responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, continues to position Ireland as a leading global tourism destination through the promotion of Ireland’s unique landscapes, cultural heritage and tourism experiences. Funding provided in Budget 2026 continues to support Tourism Ireland in expanding into strategic growth markets and attracting higher-spending “value-adding” visitors, whose expenditure benefits tourism businesses and communities throughout the country.
Improved air access remains a key enabler of tourism growth. Shannon Airport is scheduled to provide 998,038 seats during the Summer 2026 season, an increase of 110,507 seats compared with 887,531 seats in Summer 2025. This represents year-on-year growth of 12% in seat capacity and reflects the airport’s continued expansion and enhanced international connectivity.
The expansion of air connectivity, particularly from the United States, strengthens opportunities to promote Ireland in overseas markets. Tourism Ireland continues to undertake extensive advertising, publicity, social and digital marketing activity, as well as airline and tour operator partnerships. Earlier this year, Tourism Ireland’s ‘Kickstart’ campaign reached consumers across 19 US states.
The latest CSO figures indicate that Ireland welcomed just under 2.6 million overseas visitors between January and May 2026, generating expenditure of €1.95 billion. This represents increases of 18% in visitor numbers and 23% in expenditure compared with the same period in 2025. Performance to date in 2026 is significantly ahead of 2025 levels, with visitor volumes broadly comparable to 2024, which was the strongest post-pandemic year for inbound tourism.
Tourism Ireland also promotes regional air and sea access through initiatives such as the Regional Cooperative Market Access Scheme. The scheme is designed to support new services and maximise the potential of existing routes through matched funding arrangements involving airlines, sea carriers, airports, ports, local authorities and other regional tourism stakeholders.
The 2025 Regional Access Fund, valued at €4 million, supported activity across eight international markets with direct air and sea access to Ireland’s regional airports and ports. The programme delivered 31 cooperative and point-to-point marketing campaigns, as well as two business-to-business workshops involving regional stakeholders. The initiative achieved an average return on investment of 23:1, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeted marketing activity in driving tourism demand and enhancing regional connectivity.
The 2026 Regional Access Fund, also valued at €4 million, continues to support targeted marketing activity to drive visitor access to Ireland’s regions. Fourteen regional air and sea carriers were invited to participate in cooperative campaigns. Activity to date includes 20 campaigns with nine air carriers across eight markets, five campaigns with five sea carriers across four markets, and three point-to-point campaigns in two markets. Tourism Ireland has also met with all regional airports to discuss marketing opportunities. All carriers operating to, or with the potential to operate to, Ireland’s regional airports and ports are invited to submit proposals for support under the scheme.
