Influencers paid over €1 million to promote Irish holiday destinations on social media

Darragh Mc Donagh

Ireland’s tourism agencies have paid more than €1 million to influencers for promoting holiday destinations on social media since the beginning of last year, new figures have revealed.

Fáilte Ireland paid content creators and celebrities, including Roz Purcell and Éadaoin Fitzmaurice, a total of €250,797 during the 18 months to July 2026, while Tourism Ireland spent €771,114 on influencers during the same period.

Spending on hotels, meals, and activities enjoyed by the social media personalities over the course of 38 trips to destinations in Ireland was also covered by Fáilte Ireland at a cost of €40,857.

Former Miss Universe Ireland Roz Purcell has been paid for seven trips to locations including Tipperary, Cavan, Kerry, and Sligo since the beginning of last year, while podcaster Éadaoin Fitzmaurice went on six trips to places including Galway, Clare, and Roscommon.

Other influencers who were paid to promote tourist destinations include Tadhg Fleming, Katja Mia, Kevin Penrose, and Marcus O’Laoire.

Blogging duo the Gastro Gays were paid to promote a food campaign in Galway last March.

Fáilte Ireland is the state agency tasked with developing and promoting tourism within Ireland, while Tourism Ireland markets the island of Ireland overseas.

It is 60% funded by the Irish Government, with the Northern Ireland Executive contributing 40 per cent.

Last year, Tourism Ireland spent a total of €418,460 on influencers and content creators. It looks set to exceed this amount in 2026, having already spent €352,654 in the first half of the year.

Its top-earning influencer last year was paid €26,072, reaching an audience of around 6.6 million on social media. The next-highest paid individual received €15,000 and reached an audience of 489,600.

It engaged a total of 189 influencers in 2025, and has used 144 to date this year.

The average payment per influencer was €2,214 last year, and they reached an audience of over 81 million on social media, according to Tourism Ireland.

Records released by Fáilte Ireland under the Freedom of Information Act show that Roz Purcell, Kevin Penrose, and Robyn Courtney were all dispatched to Clare last February as part of the agency’s Find Yourself a Short Break (FYSB) campaign.

Katya Mia was sent to Waterford as part of the same campaign, while Grá Daly and the Gastro Gays went to Lough Derg and Galway, respectively, to produce food-related content as part of the same campaign.

Golf influencer Kim O’Neill visited Cork last month as part of the FYSB campaign, while Donegal-based adventurer Marius Monaghan was paid for a similar promotion in May.