It’s been a tough few years for Dublin’s pubs as the pandemic and inflation have shattered profit margins and hit local demand. An influx of American tourists, armed with a strong dollar and ready to spend, is expected to boost Ireland’s hospitality and travel industries this summer, from hotels and bars to golf clubs and visitor attractions.
“A lot of Americans are starting to come because the dollar is strong,” said Tom Doone, who runs The Merchant’s Arch in Dublin’s Temple Bar area. He expects a busy tourism season – which traditionally begins with St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, he said.
Robin Lucas, a 33-year-old from Washington DC, is one such visitor. “It’s a lot easier to spend money than where I’m from,” she said before her very first trip to the Emerald Isle. After touring parts of the country, she celebrates St. Patrick’s Day in the capital’s famous pub district.
With drink prices rising even in major US cities, “it’s a lot nicer to go somewhere else,” she added.
A steady flow of visitors from across the US will help offset pub owners’ mounting energy and food bills at a time when locals are grappling with rising costs of their own.
Diageo Plc recently increased the wholesale price of Guinness by 12 eurocents a pint, forcing many restaurateurs to pass the increase on to customers.
“Our margins are squeezed because we’re under pressure on all sides of the business,” said Alison Kealy, owner of family-run Kealy’s pub in Cloughran, north Dublin.
Still, it seems that money-rich customers might be just around the corner.
In Ireland’s capital, the accommodations are already almost full. The Dalata Hotel Group, the country’s largest hotel operator, said nearly all of its Dublin venues are booked for St Patrick’s Day weekend. It’s a “primarily North American” audience, said Dermot Crowley, the group’s CEO. A rugby match between England and Ireland on the same weekend also boosted the numbers, he added.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines Inc. is offering almost three times as many seats from the US to Dublin this March as it did in 2019. The airline has added new routes from Atlanta and Boston due to high demand.
Elsewhere, US-based company CIE Tours said new bookings for private driver tours in Ireland are up 70% year-on-year, with pent-up demand contributing to the attractive exchange rate.
While US travelers will help Ireland this summer, persistent inflation in the euro zone and UK will dampen demand on the continent. The economic outlook in the UK is particularly worrying as it has traditionally been the largest source of overseas visitors to Ireland, said Denyse Campbell, President of the Irish Hotel Federation.
However, “the outlook for the US looks more positive as there is significant pent-up demand,” she said.
This story was published from a wire agency feed with no changes to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
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