The ITIC say there is a "long road ahead" as tourism is "very vulnerable".

  Despite 2022 being a good year for Irish tourism, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) Eoghan O'Mara Walsh has stated that it won't return to pre-pandemic levels until 2026. In a conversation with RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Walsh said there is still "a long road ahead." RTÉ reports that, "of the seven million international tourists in 2022, the ITIC estimates that 2.6 million came from mainland Europe with 2.4 million coming from Britian and 1.5 million arriving from North America." ITIC research found that seven million tourists came to Ireland in 2022, which is a 73% recovery from 2019. Factors affecting Irish tourism include the energy crisis, hyperinflation, as well as a shortage of beds. Currently 28% of all tourism beds are being used for humanitarian reasons. Header image via Shutterstock READ ON: Two walkers rescued from mountain in Kerry on Christmas Day