Tourism Ireland hoping for 7% growth in visitor numbers by 2022
Tourism Ireland aims to increase visitor numbers by 7% by 2022.
It plans to increase tourism revenue to €6.54bn (13%) and visitor numbers to 12m by 2022.
Around 500 tourism industry chiefs attended the unveiling of Tourism Ireland's marketing plans in Dublin.
Also at the event was Tourism Minister, Brendan Griffin, who said 2019 was a challenging year for the sector.
Nevertheless, a contribution of close to €6bn to the economy from overseas tourists was expected this year.
"Despite the challenges we have faced this year, we head into 2020 in a relatively strong position," he said.
Tourism Ireland said their three-year strategy was both "flexible and sustainable".
It aims to spread the benefits of tourism more broadly across the island of Ireland and encourage more visitors to come in the 'off-season.'
Chief executive of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, blamed Brexit uncertainty for people booking later and spending less.
Expected revenue generated by international visitors this year, at around €5.78bn, will be down slightly (-1.4%), with the number of visitors unchanged at 11.17m.
