IHF survey shows 90% of hoteliers reporting increase in business levels
The majority of Irish hotels and guesthouses have seen an upturn in business during the first six months of 2015 according to the latest quarterly barometer from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF).
With overseas visitors up 12% year to date, the industry survey reveals that nine out of 10 hoteliers across the country report an increase in business levels compared to the same period last year.
The strong performance so far this year is continuing into the peak summer season with 83% of premises reporting an increase in advance bookings over the coming months.
Bookings are up year on year across all key markets including North America, Britain and the rest of Europe. Some 87% of hoteliers now have a positive outlook for their business trading conditions over the next 12 months.
In the area of home-grown tourism, almost four out of five hoteliers (79%) report growth in business levels from the island of Ireland.
The report’s authors however have cautioned that the recovery “is from a low revenue base following the downturn and is not evenly shared throughout the country with many hotels continuing to face challenging conditions”.
Business tourism is another area of growth. Of those hotels catering for corporate meetings and business events, 65% are seeing an increase in this area of their business compared with last year.
Stephen McNally, President of the IHF, stated that confidence among hoteliers has reached an all-time high since the downturn and continues to improve as the recovery in tourism strengthens.
“We’re on track for another year of robust growth in tourism, with overseas visitors likely to reach 7.8 million by year end,” he said.
“Now that the peak summer season is under way, advance bookings for the remainder of the year are up across the board. This is having a very positive impact on sentiment throughout the sector with the majority of businesses planning to take on additional new staff over the next twelve months.”
Mr McNally states that the upturn in Irish tourism is being underpinned by a number of supportive measures from the Government and by highly effective marketing initiatives from Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland that continue to grow visitor numbers.
“We’re achieving strong cut through on the marketing front and this is helping to reinvigorate our tourism brand and image as a holiday destination,” says Mr McNally. “Growth in tourism revenues is particularly strong from North America, with visitors up almost 14% so far this year. Many of these are high-spending tourists who travel around the country during their stay, providing a boost to local economies. We’re also seeing significant growth from Britain and the rest of Europe – which are vital markets for the industry.”
Mr McNally states that the improved outlook for the industry means hotel and guesthouse owners are now in a stronger position to invest in their business with results showing that 85% of hoteliers are planning to invest in refurbishment and product development over the next 12 months while 67% are planning to increase their investment in marketing.
