Ireland's visitor attractions launch new five-year strategy

Blarney Castle, which is part of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions. Picture: Dan Linehan

The national body representing operators of Ireland's tourist attractions is launching a five-year strategy today which aims to tackle costs in the sector and incorporate AI and digital tools into the workplace. 

The Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA) was founded in 2017, and has more than 140 members across the island including Blarney Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Guinness Storehouse. AVEA is launching a new five-year strategy at its annual conference, taking place at the National Gallery of Ireland.

The strategy promises a cost index, AI training, and increased sector benchmarking data.

“Visitor numbers alone don’t tell you whether an attraction is doing well. When we consulted with members and stakeholders, three top priorities emerged: better data, AI tools and digital competency, and a continued focus on cost of business pressures," said  AVEA CEO Catherine Flanagan said: “We’re building a dashboard to help attraction businesses benchmark against each other, and to identify the key metrics of success.”

AVEA's most recent business survey showed staff costs account for 54% of what visitor attractions are spending to operate. The association expressed disappointment that a call to have the 9% Vat rate extended to attraction tickets was not included in the Budget earlier this month. “Extending the lower Vat rate – which is 9% for food service businesses – to visitor tickets would have been a strong signal of Government support for small and medium tourism businesses consistently delivering year-round value for money in the face of ever-rising costs,” said Ms Flanagan.

Early priorities

AVEA’s five-year strategy will set out three early priorities:

1. Create an AVEA dashboard for decision-making, which will bring sector data and benchmarks into one place so attractions can see how they compare.

2. Create an AVEA AI Digital Academy, to help members use AI and digital tools as visitors increasingly rely on them to decide where to go.

3. Set up a Cost of Doing Business Index to track what attractions are paying, and give AVEA hard evidence for engagement with government agencies.

AVEA chair Anne O’Donoghue said: “Attractions are vital to Ireland’s tourism offering, and most are open year-round, welcoming visitors in every season, in every part of the country. But costs such as wage bills, insurance, and repairs and maintenance, are challenging the bottom line. Building resilience for the future, with data-based decision-making and a deeper knowledge of how AI is used by our visitors, has to be a strategic priority for AVEA.

"A site can be busy but operating on wafer-thin margins, and we must continually invest and innovate to ensure visitors can find us and enjoy us.”

According to most recent data from the Central Statistics Office, the year-to-date overnight visits by foreign residents were estimated at 4.7m over the first eight months of the year, an increase of 11% compared with January to August 2025 (4.2m) and up 1% compared with 2024 (4.7m). Meanwhile the most recent CSO Household Travel Survey, which measures domestic tourism, shows Irish residents spent a total of 9.2m nights on domestic trips between April and June 2026, with holidaying the primary purpose of domestic trips. 

AVEA’s 140 members welcome more than 25m visitors a year. Ms O'Donoghue said the indications among members was that "so far for 2026 is that overall numbers have been flat, which makes it all the more important that we plan ahead. This strategy gives attractions the tools to make smarter decisions, reach visitors where they’re searching, and build businesses that will thrive for the next five years and beyond."

The strategy will be launched at the conference by Ms O’Donoghue and AVEA vice chair Biddy Hughes. The conference, entitled Beyond the Visit: Storytelling for Success in Visitor Attractions, will also hear from Fáilte Ireland’s Orla O’Keeffe and Google Travel’s Rory Griffin on how AI is influencing the way visitors search and book.