Hotels voice concern over visitor levels

Hotels and guesthouses in Galway have voiced concerns about tourism performance this year and the challenges facing the sector – most notably over Brexit and increasing costs of doing business.

That’s on foot of the latest national industry survey from the Irish Hotels Federation, which revealed that 57% of hotels have seen a fall in overall business levels over this time last year – albeit that 33% reported an increase.

Business levels from the UK in particular remain very challenging for hotels, largely as a result of uncertainty around Brexit and the marked drop in the value of Sterling in recent years.

Some 78% of hotels across the country have seen a fall-off in business from Great Britain compared to last year while 60% report a decrease in business from Northern Ireland.

And 64% of hoteliers report that the weakness in the value of Sterling has had a negative impact on business levels while risks associated with Brexit have resulted in 73% re-examining investment plans and taking a more cautious approach for next year.

While tourism business from North America and the domestic market were stronger, results for these markets were very mixed: 36% of hoteliers report an increase in business from North America (30% report a decrease from this market) while 45% report an increase in business from Irish domestic tourism (30% report a decrease from this market).

IHF Galway branch chairman, Nigel Canavan warned that the industry was at a crossroads.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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