{"id":525272,"date":"2026-06-30T05:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T05:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/525272\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T05:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T05:06:08","slug":"increase-in-irish-summer-staycations-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/525272\/","title":{"rendered":"Increase In Irish Summer Staycations Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bank of Ireland<\/a> is predicting an increase in summer staycations this year after the bank\u2019s card spending data for May shows that spending on air travel declined by 6.4% year\u2011on\u2011year.<\/p>\n

This was despite air seat capacity into Ireland being projected to increase by 3% this summer compared with the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Irish hotels are expecting strong demand from the domestic market this summer as higher long-haul travel costs, security risks and ongoing geopolitical issues may tip the scales in favour of an Irish break.<\/p>\n

‘International Travel Softens’<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland benefits from a well\u2011diversified demand base across the EU, North America and the UK, while strong domestic tourism provides a natural buffer when international travel softens,” said Gerardo Larios Rizo<\/a>, head of Hospitality at Bank of Ireland.<\/p>\n

“We have seen a noticeable drop in card spending in the United States and the Gulf States, which likely reflects heightened geopolitical and security concerns and a more cautious approach to long\u2011haul travel. If this trend continues, there should be a significant increase in staycation spending this summer. The VAT rate reduction in July will also be welcomed by both the sector and travellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Positive Momentum<\/p>\n

The data suggests the sector entered 2026 with positive momentum, with a majority of hotels reporting stable occupancy and strong average room rates through to the end of May. Dublin continues to outperform many European cities, maintaining occupancy levels in excess of 80% to the end of May.<\/p>\n

Outside of Dublin, CoStar STR hotel occupancy figures reveal that Limerick achieved the highest average room rate at \u20ac184, representing a 9% increase in May 2026, in comparison to May 2025. Kilkenny, Cork, and Galway also recorded positive revenue per available room in comparison to the same period last year.<\/p>\n

STR and F\u00e1ilte Ireland data also show that event\u2011led demand remains a critical driver of performance, reinforcing Dublin\u2019s position as a leading events\u2011driven destination.<\/p>\n

Growing Domestic Market<\/p>\n

Analysis of Bank of Ireland debit and credit card spending between January and April highlights a marked decline in spending in the United States and the Gulf States, while spending in traditional European destinations remained broadly flat, including Turkey (+0.5%), France (\u20110.9%), Portugal (\u20111.8%) and Spain (+1.4%).<\/p>\n

As the hospitality sector enters the peak 2026 season, Bank of Ireland noted operators continue to invest in refurbishments, energy\u2011efficiency measures and guest\u2011experience upgrades, reflecting confidence in medium\u2011term demand and a focus on long\u2011term competitiveness.<\/p>\n

Overall, it said strong occupancy levels, resilient demand, a growing domestic market and an increasingly extended tourism season point to a sector that remains fundamentally robust, even amid softer long\u2011haul travel trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bank of Ireland is predicting an increase in summer staycations this year after the bank\u2019s card spending data…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7863,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-525272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-bank-of-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}