North Americans fuel private tour demand with prices averaging €500 

Irish tour guides are sensitive to anything that affects American travel confidence, with everything from exchange rates to international events impacting demand, a new report shows

Boat tour leaving Dingle harbour for sightseeing 

The price of a full-day private tour in Ireland averages over €500, with Irish tour guides highly reliant on North American customers.

A new report by Irish Getaways revealed an "overwhelmingly" North American-facing market for tours, with day rates varying sharply by the type of service on offer.

Surveying 44 Irish guides, the average rate charged on an all-day private tour totalled €536, with multi-day tours costing as much as €975.

For driver guides, prices averaged €660, while specialist guides, covering history, food or genealogy, charged an average fee of €375 for a full-day private tour. Walking guides averaged around €310, while half-day rates, when offered, had a median of €250.

Among the tour guides across the Irish Getaways' network, around 75% reported that most of their clients come from the US and Canada. For over half of that cohort, that share was 75% or higher.

The report noted that Irish guides were extremely sensitive to anything that affects American travel confidence, with everything from exchange rates to international events impacting demand.

Tour demand

Reflecting on demand so far this year, tour guides recalled a "noticeably soft" spring, which gave way to a stronger early summer, with guides across the country pointing to global instability and its effect on old American travellers who form the core of their business. 

"Bookings slowed significantly during March and April following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East," said Michael Fox, a driver-guide based in Co. Meath. "Thankfully, demand recovered in May and June, and bookings have since returned to the levels we would normally expect."

Jarlath Burke, a driver-guide in Co. Galway, noted: "This year is down only marginally; demand is still strong from the US, and new enquiries are coming from Taiwan and New Zealand."

The report also highlighted a move towards authentic, bespoke itineraries away from traditional hotspots, with rising domestic Irish bookings and growing European and golf-tourism interest. It also pointed to more solo and older travellers and a quiet decline in tipping, which one Dublin guide put down to younger travellers not carrying cash.

The survey also revealed that the most common booking window was up to three months ahead, with premium driver-guides and multi-day operators reporting lead times up to six months in advance.