Report shows Airbnb boosted Donegal Airbnb by €29m in 2022

Airbnb rental was worth €29 million to the Donegal economy in 2022, a new report has claimed.

The report from Oxford Economics was commissioned by Airbnb.

Guest spending in Donegal for 2022 was valued at €38 million while the total number of guest nights booked on Airbnb in the county last year was 379,000.

This was the highest (13 per cent) number of bookings in the border region of Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo.

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In Donegal, only 32 per cent of Airbnb nights were booked by Irish guests. Of those who booked in Donegal, 47 per cent were from the UK, the report says.

The Oxford Economics report found that Airbnb supported 550 jobs across Donegal

The west of Ireland saw the largest proportion of Airbnb-linked employment last year, with more than 1,200 jobs supported by activity on the platform. This is followed by the south-west with over 870 and the border region at 860. In Dublin, more than 860 jobs were supported by Airbnb in 2022.

The report comes just a few weeks after an examination found that there were only 31 properties in Donegal available to rent on Daft.ie compared to 1,796 on Airbnb.

David Goodger, Managing Director, Europe and Middle East, Tourism Economics at Oxford Economics said: “Our analysis highlights that Airbnb listings have a sizeable impact on the tourism economy in Ireland supporting nearly 5,000 jobs.

“In 2022, guests using the platform accounted for over €500 million of tourism spending with much of it benefitting local tourism businesses, beyond the Hosts on Airbnb themselves.

“As modern travellers seek authentic and varied visitor experiences, Airbnb listings play an important role enabling visitors to experience Ireland’s tourism offering. They also help to disperse tourism expenditure and bring economic benefits to regional areas of the country which is particularly important for local economies.”