Demand outstrips extra hotels rooms coming on stream

Galway City Tribune – The estimated 17% increase in hotel beds over the next five years will not be enough to meet tourist demand in the city, a new report has found.

The study commissioned by Fáilte Ireland predicts there will be in the region of 490 rooms built between now and 2022.

But with an annual occupancy rate of 82%, that will lead to an accommodation squeeze here as the number of overseas visitors is tipped to jump by more than a fifth over the next five years.

The agency’s chief executive Paul Kelly called for more investment to develop new hotels in Galway and Kilkenny – the two locations outside of Dublin where there will likely be an accommodation shortage.

“In 2019 we believe that there is potential to grow by a further 5% in overall tourism revenue, an upward trajectory that is likely to continue in the coming years. The challenge of sustaining this growth in the long-term is to ensure Ireland has an adequate accommodation supply, particularly in these four key cities.

“While there is a future supply of hotel beds in the pipeline for Cork and Galway, looking at the current and projected levels of visitor demand, there is certainly still a strong case for more investors and businesses to move into the sector and consider each of these cities for investment.”
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