Hoteliers feeling upbeat about outlook for the year

Irish hoteliers are more optimistic about the outlook for the tourism industry for 2014, with many reporting increased business compared to this time a year ago.

An industry survey undertaken by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) to coincide with its 76th Annual Conference, shows 83 per cent of hoteliers indicating a positive outlook for trading conditions for their business this year, as against just 51 per cent in early 2013.

Three quarters of hoteliers said they were seeing an increase in business levels compared to this time last year. As a result of the positive start to 2014, two out of three hoteliers said they intended to take on additional staff over the next 12 months.

Early indications show that city destinations such as Dublin, Cork and Galway are benefiting from event and business-related tourism while traditional hotspots such as Killarney are also doing well. Growth is also reported in the East, South East and parts of the West coast. However, business levels are continuing to lag in the Midlands, Shannon region and North West.

Two-thirds of respondents reported a low-level increase in business from the island of Ireland in the first couple of months of 2014, while half revealed a rise in bednights from Britain this year. Hoteliers also said there had been an increase in business from the US but that overnight visitors from Germany and France, Ireland’s two biggest markets in continental Europe were relatively low.

An increase in overseas visitors last year, due in part to the Gathering, the hotels sector is still a number of years away from achieving profitability due to excessive levels of overhanging debt. Debt in the sector was estimated to stand at €6.7bn at the end of 2012 and over half of hoteliers said they were concerned about the viability of their business over the next 12 months.

Hoteliers cited excessive local authority rates as the single most pressing issue stifling cost competitiveness within the sector.

Of those hotels that cater for weddings, 55 per cent reported seeing an increase in business while 54 per cent said civil partnerships were a growing area of their business.