Vision 2030 said the sector lost €12 billion during the pandemic of which €6 billion was restored by the Government and it will be 2025 or 2026 before visitor numbers reach 2019 levels.It stated that 20 per cent of the country’s tourism accommodation is currently being allocated to refugees and is “not sustainable”.
She acknowledged that in many places along the western seaboard, the number of Ukrainian refugees staying in hotel accommodation is much higher than that figure. There was dismay within the hospitality industry when this month the Government restored VAT from the temporary rate of 9 per cent back to the pre-pandemic rate of 13.5 per cent.