“A war on our tourism industry by inaction, ineptitude and bad policy decisions”
“A war on our tourism industry by inaction, ineptitude and bad policy decisions”
Collins calls for urgent intervention as frightening drop in tourism numbers emerges: ‘Our Tourism Industry Paying the Price for Lack of Government Foresight and Disastrous Policies.
Independent Ireland Leader TD for Cork South-West, Michael Collins, has issued an urgent call for action from government leaders following what he described as a “disastrous collapse” in foreign tourism — a development he says poses a severe threat to the livelihoods of small towns and rural communities across Ireland.
The call comes in the wake of fresh figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which show that foreign visitor numbers to Ireland fell by a staggering 30 per cent in February 2025 compared to the same period last year. Visitor spending dropped by a similarly steep 31 per cent.
“This is not a dip. This is a collapse — and it is accelerating,” said Deputy Collins. “We’re witnessing the rapid unravelling of rural and small town tourism, a sector that many communities depend on for survival. The current government approach is both negligent and economically suicidal.”
The CSO confirmed that just over 304,000 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in February, down from more than 435,000 a year earlier. Expenditure from those trips also fell sharply to €196 million, with the number of overnight stays dropping by 33 per cent.
Collins criticised what he described as the “thoroughly unsustainable” policy of using tourist accommodation — particularly hotels and guesthouses — as centres for refugees and international protection applicants.
“Rural towns are being stripped of their capacity to host visitors,” he said. “In many areas, there simply aren’t rooms left for paying tourists. And where there are, prices are being pushed out of reach because supply is so constrained.”
“This is not about blaming those seeking refuge. It’s about acknowledging the absolute failure of the State to create a sustainable system. We saw our Cllrs in Connemara just last week highlight the issue of the only hotel in Carna being proposed for use as an IPAS centre — in a Gaeltacht area crying out for tourism. It’s madness.”
“Instead of addressing the crisis, the Government sticks it's head in the stand while livelihoods in places like West Cork, Mayo, Galway and Kerry are hanging by a thread.”
He described the current policy direction as “a war on the tourism industry by inaction, ineptitude and bad policy decisions” and called for an immediate cross-party response.
“The céad míle fáilte is fast becoming a myth. I am calling on the Government to immediately return the The VAT rate for hospitality to 9% after it was increased to 13.5% in 2023."
