Inside Business Podcast: Tourism, VAT and the Future of Irish Hospitality

Dublin, 13 August 2025 — The latest episode of The Irish Times Inside Business podcast turned its focus to Irish tourism, sparking debate on visitor numbers, market performance, and the ongoing issue of the hospitality VAT rate. Joining host Ciarán Hancock were Paul Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), and our CEO of The iNUA Hotel Collection, Sean O’Driscoll. Together they explored the outlook for the tourism market, the importance of policy stability, and the impact of the VAT rate on hotels, restaurants, and the wider visitor economy. Recent data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) suggested that inbound tourism had “fallen off a cliff”. Industry leaders, however, painted a more balanced picture, acknowledging that trading is softer than in the past two years, but not in freefall.

You can listen to the full discussion on The Irish Times Inside Business podcast here.