Picture: Don MacMonagle
Ways to secure a long-term sustainable recovery in tourism took centre stage today as hoteliers gathered in Killarney for the Irish Hotel Federation’s 85th annual conference.
IHF President Denyse Campbell said tourism has witnessed unprecedented upheavals over the past three years with a number of challenges still remaining.
“While we saw a welcome uplift in tourism activity during the last six months of 2022, significant uncertainty persists this year in relation to the global economy,” she said.
Ms Campbell said there are particular challenges around the cost of doing business, high levels of inflation, increasing interest rates and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis across key overseas markets.”
A particular concern for hoteliers and the wider tourism industry is the outlook for bookings from Great Britain given the very challenging economic environment this market is facing.
Traditionally Ireland’s largest source of overseas visitors, Britain continues to face very significant economic headwinds and this is having an impact on the outlook and levels of forward bookings.
According to recent industry research carried out by the IHF, 60 per cent of hoteliers report that forward bookings from Britain are still down on pre-Covid levels.
Picture: Domnick Walsh
The rest of Europe is also challenging while the prospects for North America are brighter this year.
Ms Campbell said that, since the lifting of restrictions in 2022, the industry has achieved a remarkable restoration in employment with over 250,000 livelihoods now supported by tourism businesses throughout the country, including 60,000 employed directly by Irish hotels and guesthouses.
Meanwhile 85 per cent of hotels are planning to invest in refurbishment and additional capital expenditure over the coming year – making up for lost ground since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
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