HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
Recently published figures show that hotel rates in Ireland rank 26th in Europe and concern is being voiced in the trade that the low rates being advertised by Irish hotels are unsustainable.
Will it be possible for hotels to charge higher rates in the future when things pick up if guests are used to such low prices? The dilemma continues for Irish hotels as to how low can you go?

In an effort to reverse the depressing trends in tourism - see earlier post - Tourism Ireland have announced that they are now to target business travellers in a new drive to boost tourism. The news came at the launch of Tourism Ireland's 2010 campaign at the World Travel market in London. Looking to attract increased spending from the business and conference sector in the coming years, they also plan to lure more leisure travellers from Britain. Some of the attractions they hope will entice more visitors to Ireland include the Lansdowne Road's Aviva Stadium, Dublin Airport's second terminal, the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre and Belfast's Titanic Quarter.

The quarterly outlook from Tourism Ireland published this month makes for depressing reading for those involved in the tourism industry. There has been a continued decline in visitor numbers and revenue throughout the peak season and it seems likely that current uncertainty in the global economy will persist in 2010. Based on the latest information available, it is believed that the full year outturn will exceed the worse case scenario for the full 2009 as predicted earlier this year by Tourism Ireland.