OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026

Tourism provides a significant contribution to Ireland in both economic and social terms. In August 2024, there were 228 800 employed in tourism industries in their primary employment, which represented 9.1% of total employees. This was up from 223 200 in August 2022. Travel exports accounted for 1.5% of total service exports in 2024, a 4% increase in nominal terms compared to 2023.

In 2024, there were 6.6 million overseas visitors to Ireland, an increase of 5.3% compared to 2023. The top international markets were the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. In 2025, international arrivals decreased by 2.8% to 6.4 million. Ireland aims to increase overseas tourism revenue to EUR 9 billion (excluding carrier fares) by 2031, an increase of 50% on the 2024 level.

Domestic tourism continues to thrive, with 16.6 million domestic overnight visitors and 36.7 million domestic visitor nights in 2024, an increase of 15.8% and 8.2% on 2023, respectively. The total value of domestic overnight trips by residents in Ireland was estimated at EUR 3.6 billion, with an aim to increase this figure to EUR 5.8 billion by 2031.

The Tourism Division of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment sets national tourism policy in Ireland, providing strategic direction to support sustainable growth of the sector. Fáilte Ireland operates under the remit of the Department to administer national tourism policy. Tourism Ireland CLG is under the remit of the North South Ministerial Council and supports the Department’s tourism objectives as outlined in its tourism policy.

Fáilte Ireland is the National Tourism Development Authority. It supports tourism businesses to better manage and market their products and services, and to develop experiences in line with Fáilte Ireland's brands. It works with other state agencies and representative bodies at local and national levels. The Authority is responsible for promoting Ireland as a domestic holiday destination and managing a network of tourist information centres throughout the country.

Tourism Ireland CLG is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a holiday and business tourism destination overseas. It is funded by the Department for the Economy, in Northern Ireland, and by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, in Ireland.

Local authorities play a key role in planning and delivering services and infrastructure essential to tourism, including investment in attractions, maintenance of public spaces and environmental assets, and the provision of public facilities. All local authorities have dedicated tourism officers who support strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and the implementation of local tourism initiatives. The Parent Department for Local authorities in Ireland is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. There are 31 Local authorities in Ireland and they co-ordinate their activities through the City and County Managers Association. At local level, Fáilte Ireland adopts a collaborative approach, undertaking extensive consultation with industry, local authorities, and communities during the development of Destination and Experience Development Plans, helping to foster co-ownership and alignment with local priorities.

Tourism was allocated EUR 276.1 million under the 2026 budget. This funding supports Tourism Ireland’s overseas marketing campaigns, regional access schemes and Fáilte Ireland’s work in destination development, tourism careers, and home holiday promotion. It also includes capital funding for new attractions, sustainability initiatives, and marketing research.

The New Era for Irish Tourism, National Tourism Policy Statement outlines Ireland’s strategic direction for tourism to 2031. Established in December 2025, the overall objective of the Tourism Policy Statement is to ensure that the tourism and related sectors support the broader goals of Government, including climate action, digital transformation, competitiveness, market diversification and balanced regional development. It sets out a vision to grow the economic contribution of tourism to the Irish economy, strengthen regional development, and ensure that the tourism sector remains resilient, inclusive and sustainable, with a strong emphasis on supporting SMEs across all regions. It addresses capacity constraints in the market including on accommodation, visitor access, skills and access to finance.

Some of the key policy commitments in the National Tourism Policy Statement include:

• Grow strategic source markets and visitors by deepening and defending the North American and Great Britain markets, and growing and diversifying European, Gulf and Asian markets. This will include increasing Tourism Ireland resources in those markets and supporting new connectivity through a new Strategic Air Access Programme.

• Develop a balanced spread of tourism throughout the country, prioritising investment in less-developed tourism regions. Destination Experience Development Plans will be established for all areas, with local tourism enterprises maintaining a central role in the development of these five-year plans. Regions in the Midlands areas will be further aided by support from the EU Just Transition Fund, as they transition away from industrial peat harvesting.

• Enhance seasonal distribution through a focus on initiatives that provide year-round attractions for visitors including investing in festivals such ‘Home of Halloween’ and strengthen linkages and strategic partnerships in the development of tourism products.

• Accelerate the delivery of all-island product development and promotion through Tourism Ireland and Shared Island funding and develop new tourism opportunities, presented by the construction of the Narrow Water Bridge, and existing attractions such as Wild Atlantic Way and Causeway Coastal Route, the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark and Sliabh Beagh.

• Support our tourism-related SMEs to grow and scale to compete on the domestic and international markets. Ireland will work to improve awareness of the range of supports available to food and beverage enterprises and activate a suite of specific supports for these enterprises including to grow competitiveness, skills, support the digital transformation, and to drive sales, profitability and resilience. Initiatives to improve access to finance for the sector will also be progressed.

• Promote sustainable business practices all along the tourism value chain to ensure tourism plays its part in achieving our national climate and biodiversity targets and investing in amenity and nature restoration including through the Just Transition Fund.

• Review all tourism data sources to identify gaps to be addressed and develop enhanced sets of indicators on performance and outcomes for the tourism sector.

The Statement is supported by more targeted plans, including the Tourism Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2025-2030 and the Business Events 2030 Strategy. The Tourism Sectoral Adaptation Plan 2025-2030, launched in November 2025, seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities presented by a changing climate, with the aim of maintaining Ireland’s appeal to holidaymakers and supporting resilient communities through employment and economic growth. It sets three key goals to increase the understanding of, and build shared awareness around, climate change and tourism, while working to reduce the consequences. The Adaptation Plan also contains specific actions to achieve these goals.

The Business Events 2030 Strategy, launched in April 2025, aims to promote Ireland as a premier global destination for conferences, meetings, and incentive travel to drive 8% average annual revenue growth for the business events sector. The Strategy focuses on attracting high-value business events, fostering sustainable development, creating long-term careers, and promoting regional tourism.

Ireland continues to support tourism SMEs to adopt digital technologies, improve digital accessibility and support AI adoption. In 2026, an additional 265 businesses will complete digital transition journeys, with 700 tourism SMEs supported by the Digital that Delivers and Just Transition Digital Transformation programmes since 2022. A new Tourism Digital Transition Plan, scheduled for delivery in 2026, will broaden the range of supports to include innovative technologies along the tourism value chain. The Plan aims to unlock cost efficiencies, boost productivity, and strengthen competitiveness across tourism business operations, while also enhancing the visitor experience. To accelerate AI adoption, an innovation partnership will be established with the European Digital Innovation Hubs, including the Common European Data Spaces and Robust AI for Transparent Public Governance initiative. This collaboration will drive innovation pilots and explore opportunities to co-develop generative AI tools for tourism SMEs.

Ireland is committed to becoming a leading accessible and inclusive tourism destination by 2030. The Access for Success Initiative, launched in March 2025, is an industry-focused programme designed to embed inclusive practices across hotel operations. A key milestone is the active participation of 67 Accessibility Champions within hotels nationwide, who are undertaking accessibility audits, engaging in specialist training, and developing Access Welcome Guides to ensure that every guest experiences a genuinely inclusive and supportive environment. This supports hotels to unlock new market opportunities, improve service delivery, and build long-term resilience while enhancing Ireland’s reputation.

The long-term sustainable growth of tourism also requires adequate accommodation and an improved balance between the short and long-term rental sectors. Achieving this balance will require enhanced regulation of short-term rentals (see box below). A new Tourism Accommodation Strategy is being designed to help guide the development of the right blend of tourism accommodation options in all areas, particularly in less mature destinations. The aim is to ensure Ireland has sufficient and fit-for-purpose tourist accommodation stock, with new development underpinned by a strategic and planned approach.

The Regional Cooperative Access Scheme aims to enhance tourism accessibility and support regional development. It provides funding to encourage new access opportunities and maximise the potential of existing services to the regions. This scheme is part of a broader effort to promote regional air and sea access to Ireland in overseas tourism markets, supported by matched funding from airlines, sea carriers, airports, ports, and regional tourism stakeholders.