'A serious risk to rural Ireland' - Government accused of having two-tier tourism industry
The Government's being accused of having a two-tiered tourism industry, which its policy is failing to tackle.
The Irish Hotels Federation, which is holding its annual conference in Kerry, says not every region of the country has had the same success.
It says Dublin hotels performed strongly with an average occupancy of 84 per cent, but the rest of the country only has an occupancy rate of 66 per cent.
Irish Hotels Federation President Michael Lennon says rural areas need more investment from the state:
"Tourism supports over 260,000 jobs throughout the country," he said.
"Seventy per cent of these are outside Dublin and there is a serious risk to rural Ireland that we will be left behind and we need government to focus more on creating the right environment to sustain growth throughout the country rather than just in the hubs," he added.
