Drop in tourists seen in coastal town of Kinsale

The season is at its peak, but not many American tourists are being spotted around Cork this year.

That was the sentiment of the Chairperson of the Bandon/Kinsale Municipal District, Fine Gael Cllr Marie O’Sullivan. She said several local entrepreneurs, whose businesses rely on American visitors, have noticed the decline.

“I was told a lot of Americans are actually afraid to come here because they're thinking, what do we think of them as a country now with a lot that's going on there? I suppose anxiety is probably the buzzword at the moment regarding lots of situations.”

The June edition of the Tourism Barometer indicates that “North American levels have seemingly slipped back, and Irish tourism businesses are feeling the effects. Some report cancelled trips from the US market as travellers are concerned about their income and job security amidst President Trump’s radical economic policies.”

As noted by the National Tourism Development Agency, “Trump has trumped the existing concerns,” with US tariffs throwing world markets into uncertainty. While these policies aim to put ‘America First’ for now, it seems Americans are reluctant to travel. A number of Irish businesses said they hear concerns from American contacts about how they might be received abroad.

The full impact may be felt in 2026. While many pre-planned trips in 2025 have gone ahead, there is concern that next year will reveal the true effects of these policies.

Cllr Marie O’Sullivan has run a café in Kinsale with her family for nearly 20 years. She notes that global uncertainty is also keeping many European tourists away: “I had Spaniards in yesterday in our café, and they say the same thing: uncertainty, the cost of living, it's just like everything is up in the air, there's nothing tangible.”

Cllr O’Sullivan feels fortunate that her family business isn't entirely dependent on tourism: “I'm very fortunate that I work an awful lot with the locals. If you were depending to get your comfort money for the winter in the three big summer months, it's not happening this year.

“People are still around, but they spend is less. I'll give an example. One of the restaurateurs in Kinsale said to me: Before, you had people who came in, they had their starter, their main course, their dessert and their bottle of wine. But now they're probably going in and they're having a main course and a glass of wine. So that's the difference.”

According to the Tourism Barometer, only 7% of restaurants have achieved increased turnover so far this year. Meanwhile, 69% report a decline. The drop is visible across both domestic and international markets, with 91% citing decreased revenue from overseas visitors.

"We have a severe lack of rental properties, which is having an impact on businesses as well," added Cllr O’Sullivan. "We have some businesses that have actually bought houses so that they have staff to work in their businesses. How do you give someone a house for 10 months and say, no, sorry, we're coming in on our holidays for two months? You can't just do that."

Beyond that, Cllr O’Sullivan expresses concern about ownership patterns and their impact on the town.

"Airbnb is good when it's maybe a small property that somebody uses as their little pension fund to have a bit of comfort money, but the owner should live in town. I don't think it's fair that somebody could come in, buy a property, have somebody just managing that property. I think you have to be responsible for the people that are going into your property and what's happening there and have consideration for the neighbours."

Kinsale welcomes investment, but a recent proposal to develop a 25 hectare mussel farm in the harbour has drawn criticism. Cllr O’Sullivan is among those opposed to it, warning the farm would negatively impact the busy harbour.

"I'm totally pro-business. But you cannot put a business in where you're going to be affecting another 14 businesses. It is a very busy harbour, and it's a harbour where people are using their boats, where we have the kids out from clubs. We have a fantastic project which helps people with disabilities. There's a special boat down in the harbour. We have a huge coastline along the coast here, that there's plenty of areas where you could put a mussel farm."

A councillor, chairperson and business owner, Cllr O’Sullivan feels lucky that people can still call in to her café in Kinsale, chat with her, and arrange meetings in person.

Salvi's Café was named after one of her sons. "I emigrated to Spain back in 1992, there were no jobs here. I got a job with builders in their sales office in Malaga where I met Salvador. We have two boys: Dennis, who is working in Cork, and my son Salvi, who is in the Maritime College in Ringaskiddy, finishing up this year."

Cllr O’Sullivan has no assistant and juggles her responsibilities on her own. "My phone, my head, and my diary. I have to write things down. I'm afraid I'm old school in that sense."

She always knew she’d work for the community. "My family has always been really people-orientated. My mother was a community pharmacist in Bandon, my father was a politician. He was in the county council, he was a senator, he was a TD, and he was a junior minister.

“He was actually national organiser for Fine Gael back in the late 1940s and drove around Ireland in a baby Ford car reorganising Fine Gael. So you can imagine back then trying to get people in for a vote in parliament, where there were no mobile phones, there were hardly any phones!" she added.

Cllr O’Sullivan remains optimistic: "We're a fantastic nation. We punch very high and I do think we'll get through this, like we've always done."