'Hotels need to upgrade offers to attract tourists'

HOTELS need to work harder to deliver a better product and attract tourists, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) yesterday said.

Speaking on the eve of the federation's annual conference, which kicks off in Cork's Silver Springs hotel today, IHF president Richard Bourke said a "one-size-fits-all" approach was no longer good enough.

The industry needed more sophisticated marketing techniques and could no longer rely on stale formats such as two nights' bed-and-breakfast plus one dinner to capture the imagination of the public, said Mr Bourke.