Government officials in Ireland have rolled back many of the European nation’s COVID-19 health and safety restrictions, ending capacity limits for indoor and outdoor venues while allowing restaurants and pubs to remain open past 8 p.m. Patrons can also dine and drink without first showing proof of vaccination.
“We have weathered the Omicron storm,” said Micheal Martin, prime minister of Ireland, in a televised address on Jan. 21, referring to a new report from the nation’s health officials that showed that COVID-19 infection rates were dropping.
“All of the key indicators on which we base our decisions have stabilized and are going in the right direction,” Martin said, noting that Ireland’s vaccine and booster program “has utterly transformed our situation. … Based on this evidence, we’ve concluded that the rationale and justification for continuing most of our public health restrictions are no longer in place.”
Martin’s announcement was certainly welcome news for Niall Gibbons, chief executive for Tourism Ireland, who said in an interview this week that the destination has seen vacation inquiries jump in recent days.
“We expect that's going to translate into bookings in the coming weeks and months,” Gibbons said. “September, October, November [of last year] were actually reasonably good from a business perspective. But obviously Omicron then changed the game for a while. … Things really have changed since the announcement of the unwinding of the restrictions. It's been a great confidence booster.”
We have weathered the Omicron storm.
Steve Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus Family of Brands, also expects the COVID-19 restrictions rollback to generate many more Ireland bookings for his business in coming weeks.
“The demand is there,” Born said. “But travelers need a clear indicator that the money they’ve invested in a trip is going to be intact — that they’re going to get the value for it. Now they have reassurance the experience in Ireland is intact.”
Ireland Forecasts a Strong Summer Travel Season
Ireland reopened to international travelers July 19 last year, according to Ireland Tourism’s Gibbons, who said total 2021 visitor arrivals were down approximately 80% from the more than 11 million people who visited the destination in 2019.
Gibbons noted that Aer Lingus has announced plans, meanwhile, to operate somewhere between 85% and 90% of its 2019 capacity during this upcoming summer, offering nonstops to U.S. gateways such as New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
“What's making us feel good about the summer season is the connectivity,” Gibbons said. “You really are looking at — between Aer Lingus, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines — a very strong summer air capacity from the U.S. into Ireland, which is good news.”
Jenny O’Neill, a Protravel International advisor based in Corona del Mar, Calif., who grew up in Ireland, said 2019 was one of her best years ever selling vacations to her home country, despite the fact that her sales to the destination last year plunged more than 80%.
“2021 was — I really don’t know how to put it into words,” O’Neill said, noting most of her bookings last year were for trips in North America, Mexico or the Caribbean. “People were definitely scared to travel into Europe — particularly into Ireland, because of the restrictions.”
O’Neill said she’s now had a few inquiries about trips to Ireland for this St. Patrick’s Day after the prime minister’s announcement about the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions. Although she does believe her clients are still a bit hesitant to travel due to the Omicron variant’s global impact, O’Neill is confident she’ll be selling many more Ireland vacations in 2022.
The good news is people who had an Ireland trip booked [in 2020 or 2021] who had to reschedule rebooked for Ireland in 2022.
“I think late summer is going to be quite popular,” she said. “I do think people are just kind of waiting and watching now. They’re getting their plans together, but they’re going to reach out. I’m not concerned at all. I know my client base is definitely interested in traveling to Ireland.”
Globus’ Born, who said his company’s 2021 sales to Ireland were off by approximately 75% from 2019’s figures, was also bullish about the operator’s business to the country this year.
“The good news is people who had an Ireland trip booked [in 2020 or 2021] who had to reschedule rebooked for Ireland in 2022,” he said. “They just moved their date instead of getting a refund or instead of getting a letter of credit for a different destination. … So, with a full year in operation for Ireland, we expect 80%, 90%, even 100% of 2019’s volume for this year.”
Vaccinated and Boosted Travelers Face Fewer Obstacles for Visiting Ireland
On Jan. 6, Ireland health officials removed the nation’s existing COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirement for all international travelers. So, U.S. citizens older than 12 with proof of vaccination — or evidence of their recovery from COVID-19 in the prior six months — can now travel to the destination without being tested before they leave, according to the Irish prime minister’s office.
Unvaccinated travelers are also welcome, but they’ll need to show a negative PCR COVID-19 test result taken no more than 72 hours before their departure.
Beginning Feb. 1, however, Ireland will no longer accept vaccine cards for international arrivals “if more than 270 days have passed since the final dose in the primary vaccine series,” according to a Jan. 24 statement from the Irish Department of Health.
So, vaccinated travelers to Ireland who’ve not received a COVID-19 vaccine booster in the last nine months will need to show proof of a negative PCR test taken at least 72 hours before their departure.
Ireland Tourism’s Gibbons was quick to mention that with the recent rollback of capacity, social distancing and opening hours restrictions, travelers should expect an experience that’s “relatively normal.”
“Traveling with confidence I think is something very important to us all,” he explained. “People have had two years locked up, and they're dying to get back, but they want to know they can travel safely. It's great to be able to assure them they'll be able to do that in Ireland.”
Gibbons also noted that Ireland is launching a focused digital and television media campaign in the U.S., beginning Feb. 21, that will unveil the destination’s new “Press the Green Button” tourism messaging along with a renewed focus on vacation activities such as golf and the destination’s distinctive cuisine.
“We have our biggest budget ever — we're increasing our spending in the U.S. on marketing by over 50%,” he said. “The key message is we can’t wait to see you, and we’re really keen to have all our family and friends back in 2022.”
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