Number of tourist beds for refugees drops to new low

Fáilte Ireland previously estimated that the economic impact of the displaced bed stock on the tourism industry could be more than €1bn each year. File picture

There was a 10% drop in the number of tourist beds in Ireland contracted by the State for refugees over the past year.

A report from tourism body Fáilte Ireland shows there were 51,617 beds under State contract in May for the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP) and International Protection (IP).

Last month, 9,110, or 18%, of contracted beds were in sites on Fáilte Ireland’s accommodation register, while 42,507, or 82% of the total, are in non-registered properties. 

However, the report notes that up to half of the non-registered properties were likely to have been operating in the tourism sector.

Nationally, 3.7% of all Fáilte Ireland registered tourism bed stock is under State contract to accommodate BOTPs and IPs.

In terms of the share of a county’s Fáilte Ireland-registered bed stock under contract, Louth ranks highest at 10.0%. It is followed by Wicklow (9.4%), Meath (8.2%) and Offaly (6.9%)

Recent years have seen a steady drop in the percentage of tourism beds used by the State. The number of contracted beds from the Fáilte Ireland register has reduced by 70% since the summer of 2023, when they accounted for 13% of all tourism beds.

In August, the Government will begin phasing out accommodation that has been provided to people from Ukraine since 2022, commencing with those in commercially contracted accommodation. It aims to complete the phasing out by March 2027.

The sharp rise in refugee numbers in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw the issue peaking in late 2022, when one in four tourism beds were occupied by refugees or asylum seekers.

There are around 16,000 people in commercial State-supported accommodation and over 40,000 people in subsidised accommodation in private homes.

In 2024, the State spent €1.2bn on State-provided accommodation and is aiming to reduce that to €600m.

Fáilte Ireland previously estimated that the economic impact of the displaced bed stock on the tourism industry could be more than €1bn each year.