Ireland has Europe’s best Value Hotel Rooms.
Over the last 15 years, as Ireland’s economy boomed, prices and costs to tourists rocketed accordingly. This affected our affordability as a destination for tourists. This seems to have changed substantially and Ireland is rapidly returning to being a very affordable destination for holidays.
A survey by Hotels.com, of 130,000 bookings across the world has placed Ireland as having the cheapest hotels out of 44 countries surveyed. No other Western European country had cheaper hotels rooms. This new affordability has led to a 11% increase in tourist no’s for Ireland, after several years of declining revenue and volumes. This growth was primarily driven by an influx of American tourists but also a doubling of Chinese visitors. A market that has Irish hotel operators salivating, any potential growth in that market will be significant due to the large Chinese Middle Class. It is a welcome return to positive growth, as the tourism sector has been severely hit by the downturn with 83 golf courses and Hotels closed in the last 2 years. 1000 bars have also being shut since it began. A significant loss of jobs has resulted.
The average across the state in prices is €79 euros ($104 dollars), and within Dublin it is only €73 for a room. This compares quiet favourably to other European capitals, with Paris at €120, London at €135 and Rome at €113. The most affordable holiday destination in Ireland was Waterford, where hotels rooms were priced at €56.
The most popular areas for tourists to visit in Ireland continue to be Dublin and Kerry, the West of Ireland continues to decline. A real pity as it is one of the real hidden treasuries of visiting Ireland.
The Irish Govt. has committed to supporting the tourism industry and making it a central plank of growth in the economy, it is labour intensive and it brings in hard cash and it is an indigenous sector that will not relocate.
Tourism in Ireland is turning a corner, costs cutting is starting to reflect in the bottom line but it will take more time for that to lead to a stabilized sector.
Good news for the sector though is welcome, it has been in short supply after the last few years.
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