Rural Ireland to be 'hardest hit' from Covid-19 tourism slump as US visitors to stay away for longtime

Rural Ireland will be the hardest hit of all regions from the slump in tourism and the Covid-19 crisis is likely to be long lasting requiring tailored measures to support firms, EY Ireland has said.

It said 18% of jobs in Kerry and 13% in Donegal, compared with 10% in Dublin and 10% in Cork, are directly linked to tourism and hospitality, while high-spending US tourists which many western counties rely on will likely stay away from travelling to Europe for some time, it warned.

“Between 2009 and 2019 there was a 56 percent rise in overseas trips to Ireland by non-residents, but we have seen a near overnight reversal of this as a result of Covid-19," said Simon MacAllister, an economics partner at EY Ireland.

"Tourist behaviour will undoubtedly be impacted in the long-term by this pandemic, for geopolitical, economic and possibly psychological reasons," he said.

EY said that a "co-ordinated plan" was needed "tailored to the needs of each tourism sub-sector, alongside strategic operational supports".