Thurles Tourism Debate: Part III.
A series of upbeat tourism announcements and investment-led press releases in County Tipperary are landing against a stark national backdrop, after Eurostat reported that Ireland was one of only two EU member states to record a fall in tourist accommodation nights in 2025.
Eurostat’s early estimates show EU tourism nights hit a record 3.08 billion in 2025, up 2% year-on-year, while Ireland recorded a -2% decline (with Romania the only other country in negative territory).
Irish coverage of the figures has put the Republic’s total at 41.3 million tourist bed nights in 2025 (-1.8%), describing it as the weakest performance in the EU. The same reports note that the peak summer quarter (Q3 2025) fell 4.1%, with hotel nights down 8.4% and camping nights down 27%, while “holiday and other short-stay accommodation” rose 15.4%.
Of course, local press releases paint a different story: “growth”, “season extension”, “boost tourism”.
Despite the national decline, Tipperary tourism communications over the past year have repeatedly highlighted expansion, regeneration and new visitor offerings:-
Dromineer, Lough Derg (Nenagh MD): Tipperary County Council press material describes a €1.2m watersports facility as a “best-in-class” outdoor tourism hub intended to enhance the visitor experience and support year-round activity.
Roscrea (Grant’s Hotel): A Council press release on a feasibility study lists explicit objectives to “boost tourism activity” and increase footfall and dwell time in the town centre, alongside employment and night-time economy goals.
Carrick-on-Suir: A Council announcement confirms award of a €2.9m Phase 2 contract under the regeneration plan, presented as part of a wider town-centre renewal drive.
Thurles: Sadly the only tourism-tagged local event promotion (Feb 2025), shows a Council/MD posting highlighting for St Patrick’s Day Parade, Thurles (2025), categorised under Tourism, which pushes footfall activity in the town centre (music, attractions, participation).
Thurles it is time to wake up.
Countywide “Roadmap” messaging: The Tipperary Tourism Roadmap 2025–2030 sets out targets around economic growth, season extension and giving visitors reasons to stay longer, and was publicly launched in late November last year.
Fáilte Ireland funding (Midlands / JTF): A national press release announced €5.5m for 17 regenerative tourism projects, bringing the scheme’s announced tourism funding to almost €60m, reinforcing the wider policy message of building new and improved visitor experiences.
The core contradiction: publicity versus performance.
The tension is not that Tipperary’s projects are unwelcome, it is that headline-grabbing announcements about “growth” and “visitor experience” risk sounds hollow when the national data shows Ireland moving against the EU trend.
A key question now is whether local strategies are being matched with measurable outcomes, bed capacity, occupancy, shoulder-season activity, and value-for-money delivery, or whether Tipperary is simply publishing plans, while the wider system continues to lose ground.
We will be speaking about solutions in the coming days, so do stay tuned.
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