Demand for holidays in Ireland fell well below expectations, according to a Fáilte Ireland overview of the tourism season just gone.
Looking back at what it described as a “challenging year”, the “360-degree view” warned that visitors from key markets were becoming “more value conscious”, and that it appeared as if their national economies were slowing down.
On the Irish market it said prices continued to rise but at more sustainable rates than when inflation appeared out of control. “One thing that is worth calling out is the continued elevated household savings rate,” the report said. “If this is being driven by a precautionary motive then many are still guarded about the future and may be slow to spend.”
The review was examining research that showed only one in four Irish tourism businesses had more customers than the previous year. It said this came against the backdrop of substantial growth in accommodation, with the number of registered beds up between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.
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“There are many more short-term let listings on the main platforms,” it said. “The level of Fáilte Ireland-registered bed stock under government contract has fallen to 10 per cent (from 12 per cent in November) and more was expected to come out of contract over the summer.”
The report said the decline in visitors had been felt more in the south of the State, along the Wild Atlantic Way and in Ireland’s Ancient East region. Conversely it had been a good year for “less mature destinations” along the northern half of the Wild Atlantic Way and in the north of the State.
“With bed night demand flat and supply growing accommodation providers are going to feel that their ‘slice of the pie’ is shrinking,” it said, adding that when people went for shorter stays they were more likely to stick to the “established hotspots and better-known attractions”.
High hotel occupancy rates in Dublin were having a clear impact in encouraging visitors away from the capital, the agency’s review found. It said some tourists were avoiding trips to the city altogether “due to lack of accommodation”.
“New stock will bring this displaced demand back into Dublin therefore the ‘slice of the pie’ may not be impacted as much as other locations experiencing supply additions,” the report added.
A separate update for the board of Fáilte Ireland from chief executive Paul Kelly in late September said overseas visitors were staying for shorter periods than previously. It said full data for the domestic market was not yet available, but all indications were that it would be “softer” than previous years.
“August and September have performed better than July but there are concerns for November and December performance,” the CEO’s report said.
It said accommodation capacity was increasing but there was still room for more.
“The decline from the domestic and GB [Britain] markets has affected regionality and seasonality,” the report said. “Mainland Europe figures are impacted by decreased overseas travel by the German market.”
A spokesperson for Fáilte Ireland said that while summer performance had been weaker than expected early industry feedback suggested demand had picked up since. However, data published by the Central Statistics Office on Friday showed a noticeable decline in visitor numbers in November.
The 407,700 foreign visitors to the State was down 8.9 per cent on last year, they spent 5.4 per cent less at €315.9 million, total bed nights were 17.9 per cent weaker at 2.5 million.
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