In a changing world, every Irish business is trying to do more to meet the needs of its customers. Irish tourism knows that more than most.

While the Central Statistics Office said 772,800 foreign visitors completed a trip to Ireland in August — up 1% compared to August 2024 — international visitor numbers were down 11% to the end of July 2025, and visitor spend had fallen by 14.75% compared with 2024.

The word ‘soft’ has been used by industry leaders to describe the figures for Irish tourism over the past 12 months. In these challenging circumstances, new ways to better cater for visitor needs are always welcome.

Now, the tourism industry in Ireland is being encouraged to take a leaf out of the supermarket industry’s playbook — after all, every little helps. Loyalty cards used by retailers such as Tesco, Dunnes, and Lidl allow supermarkets to see what customers are buying, and adapt accordingly.

National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies director Jim Deegan: ‘Up until now, we never had that up-to-the-minute information.’National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies director Jim Deegan: ‘Up until now, we never had that up-to-the-minute information.’

A groundbreaking tourism ‘dashboard’ created by researchers at the University of Limerick gives real-time information on tourist movements in Ireland. Developed by UL researchers concentrating on the Cliffs of Moher, the technology used in the dashboard has the potential to equip Irish tourism destinations to meet modern visitors’ changing tastes and needs in a changing landscape. In theory, it could be rolled out and utilised across visitor attractions in Ireland, and related businesses, from caterers to coach operators.

The dashboard uses wifi data, combined with visitor attraction ticketing system information and intensive surveys to provide an up-to-the-minute picture of who the visitors to the Cliffs are, with information on their age, nationalities, and their itinerary.

It will be unveiled at the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA) annual conference, taking place at the Tower Hotel in Waterford on Monday and Tuesday. October 13 and 14. “This is the most comprehensive project of this type, over volume and over time, ever done on the island,” said AVEA chief executive Catherine Flanagan.

UL professor of tourism studies and director of the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, Jim Deegan, and his UL colleague Ernesto Batista Sánchez, created their dashboard based on research they have carried out since 2022. Mr Deegan said tourism is undergoing a “paradigm shift” and requires new ways to cater for different demands.

“People used to go on holidays for escape,” said Mr Deegan. “Escape from weather, from parents, from their lives. But, more and more, tourism is about experience: Your holiday is an extension of your life.

Catherine Flanagan is the CEO of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions whose annual conference takes place on Monday and Tuesday.  Picture: AVEACatherine Flanagan is the CEO of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions whose annual conference takes place on Monday and Tuesday.  Picture: AVEA

“Lifestyles are also changing. Many people aren’t having big meals like they used to, as drugs like Ozempic become more common. So, across the tourism sector, changes are ongoing and sometimes it leads to new demands.

“The real trick for attractions is to know who the visitors there are — how old they are, where they are from, how they arrived at the site. The more data you have, the better you can give people a good time when they come.

“Data has become central to what you want but, up until now, we never had that up-to-the-minute information. Without prying, you can add to their experience.”

The dashboard that the UL researchers created uses information from questionnaires created when visitors access wifi data — asking questions which do not divulge any personal data — combined with intensive daily survey work over the past three years and ticketing information from the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre itself.

These combine to create an up-to-the-minute picture of who is coming to the Cliffs, where they have come from, and where they are going. It can tell their age, how many are in their party, if they arrived by car or bus. All this information can then be used to make their experience better. It can also help sustainability by better matching the number of coaches on site with the numbers coming.

A Cliffs of Moher 2040 strategy is being prepared by Clare County Council for managing the heritage site into the next decade — not just in terms of visitor numbers, but also sustainability. The dashboard will inform and influence that strategy.

Around 1.5m people visit the Cliffs every year, with 55% coming by car, 42% by coach, and the last 3% made up of walkers and cyclists. Almost half (49%) of all visitors to the Cliffs are American, and 57% of all US visitors to Ireland come to the Cliffs. It is clearly central to Ireland’s tourist offering.

The dashboard created at UL for the Cliffs of Moher has wider applications.

“With further research, we could choose sample sites across the country, and produce a tourism barometer amalgamating the data of different sites,” said Mr Deegan.

Such a co-ordinated dashboard could link sites such as Blarney Castle or Killarney National Park, hotels, or other destinations to better meet the needs of visitors.

“This is a big data project. It has policy application at macro and micro level for businesses,” said Mr Deegan.

Catherine Flanagan of AVEA, whose members include Blarney Castle, Jameson Distillery, Fota, Muckross House, and Guinness Storehouse, agrees, saying: “There’s a huge opportunity for other local authorities or destinations to learn from it or apply it or scale it for their own destination. It could be particularly applied to ‘honeypot’ destinations — places like the Giant’s Causeway, and there are lots of satellite businesses that could benefit.”

The AVEA conference will welcome more than 200 leaders from the visitor attraction sector across Ireland. There’s huge excitement to see the UL project unveiled, and several other new developments.

The conference will unveil commissioned research from Fáilte Ireland about the tourists of tomorrow: Gen Z.

“There are perceptions people have about Gen Z — always on their phone — but in reality actually pack their holiday with activity,” said Ms Flanagan.

“They are street smart; they are not afraid to go off-peak if they can get a better deal. They will use a city bike if it’s available. They will take holiday advice from content creators that they trust. And when they holiday, they are in the moment.”

The conference, themed ‘Ireland’s Tourism Mosaic of Amazing Places’, will also explore the resilience and diversity of the sector and challenges facing it, alongside opportunities to drive innovation, regional growth, and sustainable tourism.

The conference coincides with the publication of AVEA’s summer snapshot survey, where the association records 19.2m annual visitors. The conference will feature presentations from international and national speakers, including Donna Speed, CEO of We The Curious in Bristol, Kat Brogan of Mercat Tours, and Mark Kelly, president of AI Ireland. “This conference is an essential forum to discuss the latest data from our members, review current performance trends, and set out the sector’s priorities,” said Ms Flanagan.

Meeting visitor needs through better use of data will be part of the next stage of tourism development in Ireland.