Fáilte Ireland Research -Visitor Numbers to Attractions Dashboard (2015-2023)

In the latest update from Crowe:

• For the nine months to September 2024 (Q3 2024 YTD),
  Ireland’s hotel sector performed broadly in line with the
  same period in 2023.
• On a national level, occupancy was slightly down year-on-year (-1%), partly due to a return to normalised demand levels.
• Higher rates (ADR +2% vs 2023) helped to stabilise
  RevPAR at €119.5 (2023: €118.4 ).
• In Dublin, ADR decreased by 3% in during the nine months to September 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.
• Occupancy was slightly down (-0.5%) partly due to increased new hotel supply (hotel bedroom supply increased by over 7% between July 2023 and July 2024).

See more detail in this update.  

The UK Caravan and Camping Alliance (UKCCA) latest economic benefit report demonstrates the sector’s significant value to the  economy. 

.
Despite the challenges businesses have faced in the past few years, this report found that: 

• holiday parks and campsites generated £12.2bn in visitor expenditure, equating to £7.2bn Gross Value Added (GVA)
  to the UK economy.
• Employment levels are high with the sector supporting
  226,745 full-time jobs across the UK.
• The sector’s expenditure accounts for 5% of the tourism
  sector’s overall GDP of £214bn. 

The report also highlights the value the consumers themselves receive from this type of holiday. 

See more in the full report.

Findings in this report: 

• The Irish hotel sector achieved EBITDAR profits in excess of pre-pandemic levels for two consecutive years.
• The Crowe Ireland Annual Hotel Industry Survey 2023 illustrated that the Irish market was one of fastest to bounce back in Europe in 2022 and that 2023 has built on that momentum.
• Rooms revenue is well ahead with the real driver being average room rate (ARR) which is up €36 for Dublin between 2019 and 2023 and €39 for Regional Ireland over the same four-year period.
• Rooms performance has compensated for significant increases in costs across all business activities.

• 2024 will present huge opportunities, however, there will be challenges around holding margins, planning restrictions hampering new builds and elevated financing costs.

See more in the report. 

The objective of this HOTREC study is to monitor the evolution of distribution channels within the European hotel industry based on  observations from over 3000 hotels across Europe.

• Direct booking channels continue to be the most important sales channels accounting for 50.9 % of overnight stays.
• A majority of hotels use an Internet Booking Engine (IBE) on their website showing that the industry is successfully taking steps towards digitalisation.
• A large number rely on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) for distribution, with 28% having OTA market shares of 30-49%.  This is more pronounced among smaller hotels with under 20 rooms.
• The European hotel sector has seen a return to pre-pandemic trends. Direct bookings have declined approaching the levels seen in 2019, which were marked by the erosion of direct bookings' market share due to the increase of OTAs.

For more data see the full report. 

Debt Warehousing was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic  to assist businesses experiencing cash-flow difficulties with  €3.2bn warehoused at the peak of the Scheme in 2022.  As of June 2024, 93% of this debt was either paid in full or secured under phased payment arrangements (PPAs), in a PPA negotiation or awaiting approval of a refund/credit offset. 

In terms of the Accommodation & Food Sector businesses: 

• 90% of debt owed in January 2024 has now paid in full or is in a agreed payment plan with Revenue. 
• 1,820 businesses with an outstanding balance of €180m are in a phased payment arrangements (PPA).
• 762 businesses with a outstanding debt of just under €13.5m did not engage with Revenue by the May 2024 closing date and this debt has now been escalated to collection and enforcement procedures. 

Scotland has experienced large growth in the number of visitors using a motorhome, campervan, caravan or tent.

To better understand the drivers behind these kinds of visitor,  VisitScotland undertook new research in this market, during the
summer of 2023.   

This report summarises the findings and provides insights on the characteristics of this group of visitors, their level of knowledge and awareness, their behaviour during their trips and activities undertaken and their views on the type of visitor infrastructure available in Scotland to support these kinds of trips.

See more in the full report. 

This report reviews the key changes in employment costs arising from government policies and the impact they will have on tourism and hospitality businesses in 2024.  These include: 

• Changes to the minimum wage 
• Increased public holidays
• Introduction of statutory sick pay
• The rollout of auto-enrolment
• Increase in pay-related social insurance (PRSI)
• Extended parental leave and the proposed remote working legislation.

For more detail see the full report. 

Following the Covid-19 pandemic Trip Advisor wanted to know if online reviews still influence traveller decision making.  

In 2021, they conducted an analysis, surveying 9,000 consumers across five countries — U.S., U.K., Italy, Singapore, and Australia to find out. 

A key finding is that: 

• 3 out of 4 said that online reviews are still extremely or very important when making travel decisions.

See more results in the full report. 

• Nearly 6,000 visitors (predominantly international) were interviewed across 34 different visitor attractions (2016 & 2018) to test a range of experience features from amenities and staff, interior layouts, exhibits, information tools to the storytelling and the tour.

See this updated piece of research combining 2016 and 2018 research findings.  

This research looks at gaining insight into the visitor experience at Ireland’s Visitor Attractions and identifies and ranks what drives satisfaction.