North American Visitors to Ireland Up 5%, Spend Up 10% — But Demand Is Softening

North American arrivals to Ireland are up 5% so far in 2026, with visitor spending up 10% — but Tourism Ireland's chief executive says the past few months have softened as travelers grow more cautious with their money.

Speaking at the Skift Transatlantic Summit, Alice Mansergh described a market still growing, yet visibly more fragile. Travelers are weighing costs more carefully and increasingly demanding flexible or refundable bookings before they commit.

"For all of us, it becomes really important to be at the top of the travel wishlist," Mansergh said.

That pressure is already shaping how the destination markets itself. Tourism Ireland's new "Ireland Goes Beyond" campaign leans on scenery, culture, heritage and local experiences — the pitch being that selective travelers will still pay for a destination they consider worth choosing.

Why Air Connectivity Is the Bigger Risk

Softening demand is only half the problem. With jet fuel costs up sharply and fewer Europeans flying to the U.S., airlines are scrutinizing which transatlantic routes still make money. For a destination, a route that disappears takes a revenue stream with it.

Tourism Ireland works directly with carriers to promote strategic routes and stimulate inbound demand. Mansergh framed the job in blunt terms: "fill the planes to keep the planes."

Two-way traffic matters here. Weaker European outbound flying can threaten the very routes that carry North American visitors into Ireland. "When you lose the connectivity, that can be damaging," she said.

That's why diversification is now a defensive necessity, not a preference. The revenue split tells the story:

• North America generates just over a third of Ireland's inbound overseas revenue
• Europe contributes roughly another third
• Britain remains a growth opportunity — British visitors are twice as likely to return

"Now is not the time to be wholly dependent on just one market or another," Mansergh said.

The takeaway is simple: no single market can be allowed to carry Ireland's tourism economy through a downturn.

How Does Ireland Compete in AI Search?

Distribution is shifting again, this time inside chatbots. Tourism Ireland's own research found that the share of people citing AI as their primary source of travel inspiration has doubled in the past year.

The organization is responding by optimizing its content for generative AI (tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini that answer questions directly rather than returning links). Its material now contributes to the answers for 19% of queries about the destination across those tools, according to Mansergh.

The commercial goal is to steer what AI recommends — particularly lesser-known attractions and local businesses that would otherwise stay invisible. But AI answers draw on the whole web, not one DMO's content.

"Choose what you want to be famous for," Mansergh said.

Tourism Ireland has applied that logic to Halloween, promoting the holiday's origins in the ancient Irish festival of Samhain through its own channels and platforms including Reddit, YouTube and Tripadvisor. "You need a bit of a surround sound of people talking about the things you want them to be talking about," she said.

What Sells When Discovery Goes Digital?

The experiences that convert, Mansergh argued, are the least digital ones: sheepdog demonstrations, cider-making farms, traditional currach-building. These spread tourism beyond the hotspots into more regions — and more local revenue.

"For me, I always want AI to stand for, yes, artificial intelligence, but also authentic Ireland," she said. "The more digital we are, the more we crave those authentic touch and feel real moments."

What Comes Next

For 2027, Tourism Ireland plans to keep prioritizing air connectivity, year-round travel, and emerging segments such as "cool-cations" — trips built around cooler-weather destinations as heat reshapes seasonal demand.

The strategy amounts to a hedge: protect the routes that bring visitors in, reach travelers through new AI-driven channels, and give them experiences worth the airfare.

By Sophie Lindqvist