Tourism Recovering as Dollar Strengthens

​New figures from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation show that foreign tourism is recovering as air routes are restored following the worst of the Covid-19 crisis. 

ITIC said total tourist arrivals at Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports, and disembarkments from ferries, are still down 13% in June from June in 2019, but that the "recovery momentum continues although cost inflation, labour shortages and capacity shortfalls all pose challenges with an uncertain outlook ahead".

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However, there is "a silver lining" from the euro reaching parity against the dollar because US tourists will have more to spend vacationing in Ireland this summer. 

Eoin O'Meara Walsh , CEO of ITIC, said that Aer Lingus has restored much of its transatlantic capacity, while Tourism Ireland is stepping up its advertising campaign for the US this year and is opening an office in San Francisco to attract more tourists from the West Coast. He also said that the fall in the euro boosts the spending of US tourists.            

“The silver lining is that there is better value for American tourists coming to Ireland,” Mr O’Meara Walsh said. 

"We all know that tourism prices have increased in Ireland for a variety of factors, mainly driven by rising costs. And the strong dollar obviously cushions that to some extent," he told the Irish Examiner. 

REF: hospitalityenews.ie