B&Bs lose out to hotels

TOURISM:BED NIGHTS SPENT in Irish bed and breakfasts and guest houses in the final three months of 2007 were down by almost 29 per cent compared with the same period in 2006, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.

Although the number of bed nights increased by 5 per cent, the proportion spent in guest houses and B&Bs continued to decline, from 1.14 million for October, November and December 2006 to 812,000 for the same period in 2007.

The drop contrasted with a 14 per cent increase in nights spent in hotels over the same period. The number of nights spent in rented houses or apartments also increased, by 23 per cent, from 1.81 million in the final quarter of 2006 to 2.23 million in the final quarter of 2007.

There was also an increase in the number of people visiting Ireland, up 3 per cent, from 1.7 million for the final three months of 2006 to 1.75 million for the same period in 2007. About 98,000 were same-day visitors, with the vast majority travelling from Britain.

And more than 1.7 million people travelled abroad from Ireland in the final three months of 2007. That was 13 per cent more than at the same time in 2006, when 1.53 million people took trips abroad. The number travelling to the Americas increased by 23 per cent; those travelling on continental European routes also increased, by 16 per cent.

The majority of those who took the transatlantic route - 65 per cent - were going on holiday, with the remainder generally travelling on business or to visit friends and relatives.