About Us

What We Do – Strategy

ITIC seeks to influence Government strategy for tourism by identifying goals, actions, and key enablers of success. ITIC’s Strategy Document Tourism: An Industry Strategy for Growth to 2025 was the product of an extensive 12-month consultative process engaging the major stakeholders in Irish tourism.

In line with best practice, we provide update reports on progress for our strategy (link).

In June 2020, in response to the COVID pandemic, we published our Post-COVID Tourism Industry Revival Plan.

What We Do – Policy-Making

ITIC works closely with its member organisations to make the case at Government level for policies which will enable success for tourism.

Our policy requests are reflective of the changing internal and external tourism environment.

We recommend the following key policies be undertaken in the Programme for Government 2020-25:

• Business survival grants; a reduction of the VAT rate on tourism services to 0% for 2020;
• SME specific support including a moratorium on local authority rates;
• State backed long-term low interest loans;
• A dedicated Department of Tourism;
• Exchequer funding increase for tourism services;
• An air access development fund;
• A domestic market stimulus incentive;
• The creation of a Tourism Recovery Taskforce.

What We Do – Lobbying & Case-Making

To support the achievement of policies identified by ITIC, we engage in regular consultation meetings with Government agencies. This enables us to articulate our industry asks, and to present our case to senior decision-makers.

We believe in positive and constructive communication, and we work hard at being excellent partners in tourism, while committing to achieving the most favourable outcomes for our members and for Irish tourism.

What We Do – Research

All of our strategy and policy work is founded in professional research. ITIC engages in regular research projects to ensure that its objectives and goals remain evidence-based.

Working with respected research partners, we monitor external forces and international trends in order to understand Ireland’s position on the tourism world stage. Recent research pieces include: Tourism: A Competitiveness Report (2019), Tourism Industry Revival Plan, and the ITIC Sustainable Tourism Report.

What We Do – Membership Engagement

Central to ITIC’s purpose are our members. Founded in 1984, our members have included some of the largest employers and revenue generators within the sector.

We listen to the concerns of members, identify common themes across the sector, and work hard to create a collaborative unity across our membership.

ITIC believes that there is strength in numbers and in unity, and we strongly encourage positive networking and engagement amongst our members. We are open to membership subject to certain criteria. Expressions of interest in joining ITIC can be emailed in confidence to info@itic.ie.

What We Do – Celebrate & Elevate Tourism

ITIC inaugurated the Irish Tourism Industry Awards in 2015, and it has quickly become the marquis event for recognising excellence and innovation in the Irish tourism industry.

Past winners include GPO Witness History, the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, and A Taste of West Cork Food Festival.

Biennally, a Special Recognition Award is presented to a person or persons whose contribution to Irish tourism is considered to be especially significant and valuable.

What We Do – Crisis Recovery Planning

The outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic has had a devastating impact on Irish tourism, and its long term impact remains to be seen. It is essential at this time that ITIC give primary attention to the restarting of Irish tourism, the revival of regional jobs, and the regeneration of tourism revenues.

ITIC’s newest publication A Post-COVID Tourism Industry Revival Plan identifies nine key pillars for business recovery, and maps out a number of scenarios in the journey towards tourism regeneration over the coming years.

What We Do – Industry Updates

ITIC publishes regular updates, commentaries and analysis pieces pertaining to the business of tourism in Ireland.

This enables us to identify key trends nationally and internationally, and to identify and recommend corrective courses of action to secure the future success of Irish tourism.

What We Do – Media Relations

As the representative voice for the wider tourism sector, we are regularly invited to comment and write on matters of current interest for national and international news outlets. You can find us on social media | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | LinkedIn

What We Do – Industry Interviews

ITIC’s archive of interviews with leading figures in the Irish tourism industry forms a rich narrative on people, developments, and events of significance which have changed the tourism landscape.