TOURISM CHIEFS WANT to see a revamp of Ireland’s tourism strategy amid concerns that the country relies too much on American tourists at a time when they may not be able to afford foreign trips.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC), the representative body of the domestic tourism industry, said that geopolitical uncertainty could jeopardise US tourists coming to Ireland, where their total spend makes up 35% of the money taken in by Irish tourism each year.

While the industry remains confident about its current performance, a weakening dollar due to the White House’s on-and-off again tariff campaign has heightened concern that US tourists may not be able to shell out for a trip to these shores over the coming months.

“We need to look at a strategic review of source markets for Irish tourism, and just make sure that all our eggs aren’t in the one basket,” ITIC chief executive Eoghan O’Mara Walsh told The Journal, “because if the US dips for whatever reason, we need to have alternative markets.”

“From an inbound Irish tourism perspective, the US market is really, really important. We are nervous enough about the summer ahead, because obviously, if the stock market falls or if the dollar weakens, it will impact on Americans coming to Ireland in the second half of the year.”

O’Mara Walsh said that while the US market has been “the superstar of Irish tourism” in recent years, the industry is fearful that “economic volatility in the US [may] cause a degree of uncertainty” for businesses here expecting tourists in the second half of this year.

He added that these were “factors completely outside of our control” and would need addressing by the industry and government – including by targeting would-be tourists in other countries in North America and Europe to tempt towards Ireland.

“The US is a very important market, but it’s only one market. So I do think we have to, as an industry, diversify our portfolio of markets,” he explained.

“So, please God, the US will remain strong, but we also have to grow Canada, grow Germany, grow France, grow Britain, into Ireland.”

O’Mara Walsh said there was strong air access into Dublin and Shannon for this coming summer season, with industry figures also contending that forward bookings were looking healthy for the first half of the year.

At the same time, however, the industry has been seeing a “slow-down” in trips from Ireland to the US amid political uncertainty and reported high prices.

New figures show that Ireland saw a 27% drop in trips to the US in March. 

Some, such as Sharon Harney of long-time Dublin travel agency Cassidy Travel, are more bullish. Harney told The Journal that business has increased by 4% for the first quarter of the year, citing new Aer Lingus routes to Nashville and Las Vegas, as well as “bucket list” holidays to the likes of Orlando, Florida and New York.

But she said that “increased prices for hotels across the USA” were not helping the cause for drawing Irish tourists to the US, adding that the US market “should be careful not to overprice” its offerings.

Harney said she accepted there is a “small slow-down at the moment” but said the industry would need to be “cautious” as to why.

A number of Irish tourism industry figures told The Journal that they believe Easter taking place in April this year compared to March last year was another factor to consider when accounting for the recorded drop in outbound tourism.

“We do expect the US leisure market to pick up again that end of the month, after Easter,” Tom Randles, president of the Irish Travel Agents Association, said.

Randles said a “small drop” has been seen in people travelling to the US, but said there was a more noticeable “drop in corporate travel to the US” in recent weeks.

The shakeup to the US market comes amid reports of much stricter and more draconian immigration policies from US authorities.

Students travelling to the United States on J1 visas were warned this week of the “potential risks” of being involved in activism while abroad, and the Department of Foreign Affairs here advising transgender people last month following one of the latest executive orders signed by Trump.