The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) has estimated that 27,000 new jobs could be created in the tourism sector in Dublin by 2020.
The ITIC has published a new report which found that greater collaboration is needed between public and private stakeholders, and it has said that Dublin needs to be marketed as a brand in itself.
Visitor numbers to Dublin fell by 22% between 2007 and 2010, but recovered by around 7% last year. The ITIC said growth of 6.2% a year is achievable.
Chairman of the steering group which carried out the report, Maurice Pratt, said if this target is achieved then 27,000 jobs could be created - but he said Dublin faces some stiff competition.
"Primarily it would be cities like Lisbon, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Edinburgh - cities of broadly comparable size.
"In most cases, if you are in mainland Europe you can drive directly to those cities - Dublin has a disadvantage in that it's on an island.
"You have therefore got to have a very attractive product in order to get people to come to the city."