The Ireland Tourism “Collapse”: What Tour Operators Are Saying
Travel Market Report spoke to four tour operators that specialize in Ireland vacations. Here’s what they’re seeing.
Giant’s Causeway, Ireland. Photo: Sarah Milner
Ireland is undoubtedly a popular destination for American travelers.
Ireland frequently appears in top 10 lists for most-visited European countries, including in trade-focused studies. The recent Travel Market Report’s Outlook on Global Travel Trends, 2025 found that 52% of advisors say their clients book trips in Ireland, making it the seventh-most popular European country, above Germany (47%), Iceland (34%), and Croatia (32%).
Despite this, there have been signs of a tourism slowdown. Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported fewer international visitors arriving in 2025 so far. In April, The Irish Times warned that Ireland’s tourism was collapsing, and just last week, ran a story that Ireland’s overseas tourism spending was down over 20% year-over-year in May.
TMR reached out to tour operators that specialize in guided tours in Ireland and asked what they’ve been seeing.
Ireland’s Tourism May Be Down, But North American Interest Is Up
Representatives from Brendan Vacations, CIE Tours, Globus, and Royal Irish Tours all stated that sales of Ireland-based travel were slower than usual at the start of 2025 but picked up to normal or above-normal levels.
Stephen Cotter, managing director at CIE Tours, told TMR that he was surprised by the reports of a tourism decline in Ireland, given the numbers his company has seen over the last year.
“That caught us by surprise. It’s caught most of the people in the industry that I’ve talked to by surprise. We aren’t seeing it ourselves in volume.”
Cotter noted that CIE Tours is also focused on a specialized product, so they aren’t representative of Ireland’s tourism performance overall.
“From our perspective, it looks solid—but we are niche. We’re coach tours for the American market. It’s a very small percentage of the overall market.”
It’s likely too that the reason these tour operators aren’t seeing a slowdown is because their market—Canada and the U.S.—is still showing strong demand for Ireland. According to the CSO’s own figures, tourism from North America is up. One CSO spokesperson told The Irish Times that tourism from outside of North America fell 38% in May 2025 compared to May 2024, while North American tourists were up 11%. Compared to 2023, visitors from North America were up 33%.
“Interest in Ireland has surged,” Steve Born, chief marketing officer at Globus, told TMR. “We’ve seen continued growth in demand year over year.”
Ireland interest is driving massive growth at Brendan Vacations as well. Part of the TTC Tour Brands portfolio, Brendan Vacations specializes in Celtic destinations in Ireland and Scotland. Its top-selling tour is Focus on Ireland, a seen-day journey through 10 cities including Dublin, Galway, and Killarney.
“We saw a bit of a slowdown in Q1 of 2025, but now, interest is climbing fast,” Catherine Reilly, managing director of Brendan Vacations, told TMR. “U.S. bookings for 2026 departures are up 81% month-to-date and 419% year-to-date, showing that Ireland continues to be a top choice for Brendan Vacations travelers.”
Travel Advisors Are Driving Ireland Growth in North America
The tour operators TMR spoke to were quick to credit the trade for supporting interest in Ireland travel.
“The trade is helping to power our success in Ireland,” said Born. “Ireland—along with Britain—is our number one destination worldwide, and that demand is largely driven by our advisor community. Their insight and influence continue to be an important part of our growth.”
Reilly told TMR that travel advisors are key to Brendan Vacations’ success as well.
“An impressive 90% of Brendan Vacations’ 2024 bookings came through travel advisors, highlighting the vital role our trade partners play in connecting travelers with authentic, expertly curated experiences,” said Reilly.
Meanwhile, Cotter said CIE Tours depends on the trade for valuable feedback regarding their product strategy. The tour operator recently rolled out new walking and hiking tours in Ireland for 2026 because of conversations it had with travel advisors.
“We surveyed our travel trade a few years back… Overwhelmingly they come back and said absolutely we trust us that delighted to recommend [walking tours],” said Cotter.
Canada’s Growing Appetite for Ireland
Jonathan Sargeant, the director of sales at Royal Irish Tours, told TMR that he hasn’t seen a decline in interest for Ireland north of the border either.
RIT is a Canada-based tour operator that sells vacation packages for Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. Almost all of their customers are Canadian, and approximately 80% of bookings are through trade (most of which are also Canadian, but Sargeant told TMR they do occasionally work with American advisors).
“In terms of feedback from our partners in Ireland on the season (hotels and attractions), some reported a ‘slower start’ to 2025 as many do rely on the strong U.S. market. However, business definitely picked up and the main touring season,” said Sargeant.
“The majority of our May and June coach and sightseeing tour departures are sold out.”
CIE Tours has also seen a spike in Canadian interest.
“As part of our strategy, we decided to invest some money in boosting our Canadian business into Ireland over the last 18 months. Now we’ve got two BDMs representing us in Canada. With the American administration and Canada, that creates a bit of tension. So timing wise, my initial thought was that’s it’s not good timing now … but thankfully we have seen growth in Canada over the last six months.”
Sargeant thinks that Ireland may actually be benefiting from the U.S. and Canada border tensions, as Canadian travelers are seeking alternative vacation destinations.
“From our perspective here in Canada, we have seen people seeking out European vacations this year in lieu of their usual USA trips, and Ireland has been one of the countries that has been benefiting,” said Sargeant.
