Airbnb contributed €54 million to the economy in Galway last year, and supports hundreds of jobs here a new report claims.
The report from Oxford Economics, which was commissioned by Airbnb, said that the platform also supports 830 jobs in Galway.
Travel on Airbnb in Ireland is a significant part of the country’s tourism economy, the report states, and provides a sizeable share of Ireland’s accommodation offering
Nationwide it accounted for 6% of all nights in paid accommodation in 2022, and saw more than half a million guest nights booked in Galway alone.
Domestic guests accounted for 24% of all Airbnb bookings in Galway last year, with another 27% coming from the United States, 14% from the UK, 12% from France, 6% from Germany, and 18% from a mix of other countries.
Guest spending in Galway for 2022 was valued at €63 million, with more than half of that going to non-accommodation sectors such as food, drink, and retail.
Derek Nolan, Head of Public Policy at Airbnb Ireland said, “Airbnb provides authentic and affordable stays for guests in Ireland and drives economic benefits for local Irish families and their communities by generating employment and dispersing tourism across the country.”
“We want to play our part as a key pillar of the Irish tourism economy, and support the introduction of a Host register to protect Ireland’s tourism, unlock the benefits of hosting for Irish families, and help local authorities to clamp down on property speculators.”
However, while Airbnb contributes to Ireland’s tourism economy, the platform has also been heavily criticised for its impact on the housing market.
At present there are almost 700 properties in Galway City on Airbnb, compared with just 30 properties to rent in the city on Daft.ie.
The report claims that Airbnb-linked spending represented 10.5% of all international tourism-related spending across Ireland, and contributed over €500m to Ireland’s GDP in 2022.
In 2022, the spending footprint attributable to Airbnb guests in the West region was worth €79 million to Ireland’s GDP.
