Tourism Operations Internships in Dublin

Ireland Internship Abroad Tourism & Hospitality

This tourism internship offers an incredible mix of sightseeing and career development. Interns are placed with tour companies in Dublin, taking part in excursions and identifying areas of improvement. Assist with social media marketing and customer service for leading tourism operators, and experience Ireland’s most popular attractions while you do it!

Internship Highlights:

Gain experience working in some of Ireland’s best tour agencies
Travel around Ireland and explore its most famous landmarks from The Cliffs of Moher to the Titanic Museum
Enjoy free time to explore Dublin

Type of host organizations:

Tour companies

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Gain academic or course credit

Fully hosted experience from $2872

Includes accommodation

Start dates every Monday

Minimum duration 2 weeks, up to 12 weeks maximum

Enjoy castles, cathedrals, hiking & hospitality

Get job-ready with our Experiential Learning Curriculum

Internships align with UN Sustainable Development Goals

Eligibility requirement

Applicants must have or be undertaking a qualification in tourism or hospitality and a passion for travelling and social media.

Language requirements

This internship is conducted in English.

Associated career paths

Concierge, Guest Services, Event & Conference Organizer, Management, Sales and Marketing, Travel Agent, Tour Guide / Operator, PR Manager, Travel Writer / Photographer, Market Research Analyst, Sales Management, Brand Management, Marketing & Promotions Management, Public Relations, Media Relations

Internship details

This is an in-country internship, with accommodation provided. Click here to check out remote internships, which you can undertake from home.

Tourism Operations interns get to experience world-class, full day tours around Dublin and wider Ireland, acting as mystery shoppers to provide feedback on the customer experience and ways that tours can be improved.

This is a unique opportunity to take part in enjoyable tourism activities, while gaining marketing, customer service and tourism experience with a young and energetic host company. You’ll get to visit iconic attractions such as The Cliffs of Moher and the Titanic Museum while you work!

Interns usually join between three and four tours per week. These excursions often start early in the morning, around 6am, and can finish as late as 9pm. You can opt to do your own sightseeing on other days, or intern in the tour company’s office, helping with sales, customer service or other marketing activities such as social media marketing, writing blogs, and digital design.

With internships available from as little as two weeks, this is a perfect opportunity for interns wanting shorter experiences. Longer term interns (i.e. four weeks or longer) can request to work in specific roles, such as SEO marketing and sales. These requests will be accommodated wherever possible, but are not guaranteed.

Tourism Operations interns are accommodated in a city center apartment rather than with a host family. The central location means you’re based in the heart of Dublin, with all the attractions of the city on your doorstep. Accommodation is also close to main public transport routes, shops, restaurants, cafes, entertainment, parks, and other attractions.

In all cases, interns should expect that the first week of your experience will focus on settling in and gaining some introductory knowledge, as you will not “hit the ground running”. Rather, you should start with learning about the placement to gain an understanding of what you can build upon, develop, learn, and contribute. Ensure that you ask questions and provide feedback during the introductory period, so that your supervisor understands how you’re progressing. This will help them to better understand important details, such as how quickly you learn, what you find challenging, what you find interesting, etc.

Understand and expect that individual internship experiences vary, as the specific placement that you’re assigned will depend on review of your resume and your current level of studies and experience. Therefore, if you’re at a more introductory level, you should reasonably expect a more introductory internship. Likewise, if you’re interning for a shorter duration, you will have a different experience from someone who is interning for a longer duration. Placement preferences are considered but always subject to availability.

Typical Schedule

Schedules will vary based on how many tours you complete each week. Interns can work on up to four tours per week, which can run from 6am - 9pm. Other days can either be free, or working in the tour company’s office on a schedule you’ll agree with your supervisor.

Career Benefits

Tourism Operations interns learn from a qualified and experienced supervisor, and can be involved in:

Critical evaluation of tourism excursions
Identifying areas of improvement and solutions that promote better tours
Social media / digital marketing
Customer service and sales

Professional development opportunities:

Gain experience working in a busy tourism office
Understand tourism activities from the perspective of a tourist
Contribute original photos, blogs and social media content
Gain customer service experience in selling tickets to tours around Ireland
Gain practical skills and boost your employability, with guidance from Intern Abroad HQ’s Experiential Learning Curriculum to support your learning and cultural intelligence.

Ireland photo gallery

What recent interns said about their experience

Emily Cavender

May 2023

I had the opportunity to do a lot of different tasks throughout my placement and I loved that some days were more structured and some days I got to bounce around and try new things! I learned so many things about myself and what parts of the industry I enjoyed more than others. Best experience ever!!

...

Sebastian Anschütz

April 2023

I enjoyed every last minute living in Dublin, the people were great, the city was cool and overall I had a great time. My work at the internship didn't feel like work, because I was with such nice people. However, I still learned a lot about business and working life in general and I believe that this internship helped me with my development and was a first step into my professional life.

...

Kenneth Sitkowski

September 2020

My internship involves me being a secret shopper, where they send me to the Cliffs of Moher, or Galway, or Wicklow - a whole bunch of places - and I would have to rate the tours after they were over, compile the details, and present back to the company. I learned about marketing and how to run social media websites for a tourist company. What I enjoyed most about my time in Ireland was working for a tourism company and learning the ins and outs of it and then feeling confident afterwards, knowing that I could work for a company in Ireland, get used to the culture, get used to being in this type of work environment and feel confident about it. The boss will make you feel comfortable and that’s what made this entire trip with it.

...

To read all reviews, visit our reviews page.

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Academic credit available for all internships

Gain course credit from your college or university and meet your academic requirements when completing an internship abroad or remote internship program with Intern Abroad HQ.

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Program fees

It’s free to apply for this internship. Once we have reviewed your suitability and accepted you onto this program, you’ll need to pay a deposit of US$499 to confirm your place. The remaining balance of your Program Fee (less your initial US$499 deposit payment) will be due no less than 60 days before your internship start date.

Duration	Program Fee (USD)
2 weeks	$2,872 Equivalent to $205 /day
3 weeks	$3,234 Equivalent to $154 /day
4 weeks	$3,485 Equivalent to $124 /day
5 weeks	$3,819 Equivalent to $109 /day
6 weeks	$4,208 Equivalent to $100 /day
8 weeks	$4,897 Equivalent to $87 /day
10 weeks	$5,668 Equivalent to $80 /day
12 weeks	$6,384 Equivalent to $76 /day

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Airport pick-up
Daily breakfast and dinner (except for Tourism Operations internships)
Accommodation
24/7 in-country support
Program orientation
Dedicated support before, during, and after your internship
In-country guidance for social and tourist activities
Sourcing and securing your internship placement
Personalization of your internship plan
Coaching from your supervisor
Documented portfolio of your experiential learnings
Academic credit facilitation
International reference letter
Certificate of Internship Completion

Meals
All in-country transportation
Visa (if required), flights, travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check
Transfer back to the airport at the end of your internship program
Personal spending money for snacks, drinks, public transport, laundry, and leisure activities during your free time.

A deposit of $499 (approximately 499) is required to secure your internship
Balance of your Program Fee is due 60 days before your internship start date.
All payments attract a 5% transaction fee to cover international banking fees and currency charges.
Terms and Conditions apply.

Activities and tourism

During the weekends, free time is available to relax, engage in tourism activities and explore other parts of Ireland. Dublin’s history goes back thousands of years and there is a lot to explore! You’ll find museums, castles, theatres, parks, festivals, art galleries, cafes, and pubs abuzz with various happenings, year-round.

The city is sometimes described in quarters, comprising of the “Medieval Quarter” (including Dublin Castle, Christ Church, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the old city walls), the “Georgian Quarter” (including the area around St Stephen’s Green shopping mall, Trinity College, and Merrion Square), the “Docklands Quarter” and the “Cultural Quarter” (around the Temple Bar district).

Make sure you get “The Dublin Pass” which is a must-have sightseeing package. It grants free entry to over 25 top attractions, museums and monuments, as well as a free 24-Hour hop-on, hopp-off bus tour. You can choose from 1, 2, 3 or 5 day passes and it’s free to pick up the pass if you collect it from Dublin collection desks, located within the city, or - have it sent straight to your smartphone.

If you want to get some exercise and fresh air outside of the city, there are plenty of activities that’ll help keep you fit (you’ll need to bookmark these ideas, to ensure you burn off your Guinness and fish n’ chips). You can go kayaking in Dalkey, kite surfing in Clontarf, or hike around the Hill of Howth. Dublin Discovery Trails offers a series of self-guided walking trails, or rent a bicycle to cruise around the city. If you want more cardio, check out Ticknock Mountain Bike Trail to ride the 8km loop within the Dublin Mountains.

Arrival and Orientation

Internships in Dublin begin every Monday and interns may choose to spend a minimum of 2 weeks, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. (Exceptions to start date availability may occur when start dates are closed due to public holiday disruptions or if the program has already reached capacity).

Airport pick up and accommodation are included in the Program Fee. The accommodation is covered from the Sunday night before the Monday start date. Interns are asked to arrive on the Sunday before their Monday start date only. Extra nights of accommodation in advance of the start date are not available, so if you do arrive in Dublin prior to this date, you will need to make alternative accommodation arrangements, prior to checking in on the Sunday, before your scheduled to start the internship on the Monday.

All participants fly into Dublin Airport (DUB), in order to receive their airport pick up and be transported to the accommodation by a pre-arranged driver. Upon arrival at the homestay accommodation, interns are met and greeted by their host family, who will assist with settling in. (If you are planning to spend time in Dublin prior to your internship and will not require an airport pick up, we can arrange an alternative pick up from another location within the central city.)

Orientation takes place - usually on your Monday start date - and covers important details for the internship, including introductions, information about culture, customs, rules, expectations, safety, language lessons, cultural excursions, and more. You will be contacted via WhatsApp, prior to the orientation, to confirm plans directly.

The last night of the accommodation is the Saturday night of the final week, leaving interns free to depart on Sunday. Extra nights of accommodation outside the program dates are not available. Return transportation to the airport is not included in the internship program fee but local staff can assist you to make arrangements.

All participants are advised not to book flights until they have first registered to confirm their internship placement.

Check what’s required to visit Ireland

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Accommodation and WiFi

Interns in Dublin are hosted in friendly and welcoming homestay accommodations. In the event that home-stay accommodation has reached maximum capacity, interns may be offered alternative accommodation in student dormitories (but meals are excluded in these circumstances).

Due to the layout of Dublin city, host families are usually based in suburban areas outside of the capital. Host family accommodation assignments are always made in consideration of the internship placement location, making efforts to ensure that any commute time to the placement is as convenient as possible. Nevertheless, it is wise to anticipate an average commute time of up to 40 - 45 minutes via bus or Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (“DART” is an electrified commuter rail railway network, which serves the coastal and city center of Dublin).

Interns can purchase a weekly Dublin bus pass (LEAP card), which allows interns to ‘top up’ and enjoy unlimited travel on city center forms of transport. Expect to budget approx. €40 (approx. US$47) per week for this. Homestay accommodation includes a light laundry service and single room.

It is important to note that extra nights of accommodation are not available with homestay accommodations. The Program Fee covers the accommodation from the Sunday night before the Monday start date and interns are required to depart by the Sunday morning of their last week. If extra nights of accommodation are required for an earlier arrival or later departure, they must be booked independently.

Please note that the accommodation pictured in the photo gallery of this webpage is provided as an example. Since we work with more than one option for accommodation, the exact accommodation that you’re assigned may differ from the photos. However, you can expect a similar standard and similar amenities, to what is shown.

Meals

Homestay accommodations include meals, provided by the host family. This consists of breakfast and dinner, served Monday through Sunday.

It is important to be aware that vegetarian and other dietary requirements must be communicated in advance. There is an additional weekly surcharge if a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan diet is requested. This is in order to provide specialty grocery items, which are often more expensive (e.g. soy milk, gluten free bread/pasta, protein supplements, etc). The extra cost is US$40 per week, which will be charged in advance.

In all cases, we advise interns to budget independently for their own lunches, snacks and treats. You’ll find the meals to be sufficient but likely different from what you’re used to eating at home. If there are special snacks you like to have, please budget for them and take care of your own preferences independently. A weekly budget of approximately US$100 should be sufficient for covering extra snacks, treats, and drinks, as a supplement to what’s already going to be included for you.

Keep in mind that, depending on your own spending habits and lifestyle choices, personal budgets can vary enormously. Dublin is very active and there is a lot to see and do, so it’s important to plan your budget carefully. A meal at an inexpensive restaurant may cost approximately US$25. If you want to frequently purchase beverages, such as coffees (approx. US$5), then you’re definitely going to need a higher budget over the course of a week or month. You can manage your budget by buying snack food for your lunches, such as fruit or sandwiches, from markets, rather than dining at restaurants.

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Essential country information

Capital	Dublin
Population	4.77 million
Languages	English, Irish, Ulster Scots
Currency	Euro (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+00:00

Weather and climate:

Ireland has a mild, temperate climate with warm summers and mild winters. However, the weather likes to keep you guessing, so you’ll probably experience a little of everything - four seasons in one day! So be flexible and pack for all seasons. You just never know what you might get! In Dublin, the warmest months are June through September, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F (16°C). It is cold and wet from November through March, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F (11°C). Varying degrees of wind, rain, and cloud cover can be expected year-round.