Tourism bosses have called for a wider government rescue package than the €4bn in income support measures; and want businesses in their industry to receive the bulk of it.

Joe McNamee talks to industry leaders about the steady rise in US-Irish tourism

Approximately 10,000 jobs could be lost in Ireland's tourism industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to the Chair of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.

Latest figures from the Central Statistics Office have shown a decline in tourism numbers for the past two months.

Spend by tourists fell by more than 4% in the first three months of the year despite visitors rising by 5.5%, CSO figures have revealed - as industry bosses admitted growth is not being felt evenly across the country.

Tourism Ireland has welcomed the growth of 6% in overseas visitors to Ireland in the first quarter of the year.

Fáilte Ireland said its €150m fund will develop what it called "major new visitor attractions of scale across the country".

Growth in 2019 could be half of official estimates as the effects of the recent VAT hike and the possibility of a hard Brexit may cost Irish tourism close to €1 billion.

Tourism has the potential to create 80,000 new jobs in the next six years but a "worrying drift" in Government focus threatens the growth, an industry organisation has claimed.

Research commissioned by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) said Government had to match the level of private investment in tourism in the regions post-Brexit.

Wander down Dublin’s Grafton Street after a decent stretch of good weather and one can only be struck by the filthy stains — many caused by poorly maintained delivery vans — evident across the recently remodelled pavements.

Severe cuts to Tourism Ireland’s marketing budget during the recession must be reversed — with a significant chunk needed to capitalise on the surge of US and European holidaymakers to the Republic.

At least a quarter of a million UK visitors vanished from Irish shores this year in what tourism chiefs are warning could be a worsening Brexit effect.

American tourists spend on average just over €700 while they are in Ireland.

A €20m stimulus package from the Government is now needed to make tourism Brexit-proof, a body representing the industry has said.

Cork businesses have backed calls for a €12m stimulus package for the tourism industry in the wake of falling UK visitors following sterling’s post-Brexit vote slump.

The Government now has to “step up to the plate” to rescue tourism from the impact of Brexit in the wake of the UK election because it is “much too important to the regional economy to be taken for granted”, according to a national industry body.

Latest: The Government says it notes with regret the UK's decision to trigger Article 50.

Ireland has become one of the “main beneficiaries” of terrorist attacks across Europe because tourists see it as a safe place to visit, a major tourism group has claimed.

Brexit puts at risk the Government’s cross-border promotion of tourism, which has been in place as part of the Good Friday agreement, and threatens the Common Travel Area with Britain.

The country’s main tourism industry group has warned any UK recession sparked by the Brexit vote will inevitably directly hit Ireland as it urged the Government to make the reduced Vat rate tax an untouchable part of the tax code here.

The Irish tourism industry is now worth more than €7bn to the economy after a record year in 2015.

Tourism chiefs forecast a big increase in visitor numbers in 2015, after strong growth over the past year saw 5,000 jobs created in the sector.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation believes that 2014 will be a year of further growth as the industry reported its strongest set of figures since 2009.

Ireland’s tourist industry has experienced its best year since 2009.

Ireland’s tourism industry is undergoing a modest recovery despite another difficult year, figures reveal.

There were mixed fortunes for the Irish Tourism sector in 2012 as Dublin had a good year, but the rest of the country did not fare as well.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation has estimated that 27,000 new jobs could be created in the tourism sector in Dublin by 2020.

TOURISM needs to grow by more than 5% over the coming year if businesses are to survive the economic crisis, industry chiefs have warned.

The number of tourists visiting Ireland increased by 7% in 2011, new figures have revealed.

TOURISM businesses have warned they face disaster if they don’t see an increase in visitor numbers this year.

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) has welcomed many of the measures in today’s Budget saying it gives the tourist sector a "realistic chance" of recovering.

IRELAND’S hospitality industry will not recover before 2015 as the sector continues to struggle with issues raised by zombie hotels, says Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) chief executive Eamonn McKeon.

TOURISM here may never return to its pre-recession levels, a hard-hitting industry report has concluded.

A major report on the state of Ireland's tourism industry is calling for the scrapping of the €10 tourism tax.

The tourism industry has said it is grateful that marketing spend will be at 2009 levels next year, so that campaigns can continue to increase visitor numbers into Ireland.

IRISH guests account for two out of three bed nights sold in hotels as demand from overseas visitors falls due to the recession.