On the basis of March 2018 numbers ITIC ranks demand outlook for mainland Europe, North Americas and Rest of World markets "Good", domestic market "Neutral" and Great Britain market "Poor."
March 31 YTD visits from France were down 9%, but those from Germany (+30%), Italy (+18%) and Spain (+5%) more than compensated.
Issues and challenges ITIC cites include:
- global uncertainties
- rising oil price
- exchange rates
- Brexit
- rising state-induced costs
- rising insurance rates
- tight labor market, wage inflation
ITIC has recently warned that those rising costs are resulting in rising prices to tourists, and threatening visitor perceptions of Ireland's value for money. (See Related Article, below.)
