Events boost for hotels outside capital

HOTELS outside Dublin are benefiting greatly from the shortage of hotel and conferencing facilities in the capital.

This is according to one of Ireland’s leading hotel groups, the Gleneagle, which own three hotels in Killarney as well as Ireland’s National Events Centre (INEC).

It said conference venue owners outside Dublin will benefit by attracting an increasing number of large-scale national and international conventions.

“We have seen a significant rise in business traffic at the INEC recently, in particular since venues such as Jurys and the Burlington announced their upcoming closures,” said Carmel Flynn, Gleneagle group director of sales and marketing.

“Our business visitors find Killarney an attractive alternative to Dublin. We have the space and all the mod-cons they’re looking for, and a lively town with gourmet restaurants and a good rail service on our doorstep. Kerry Airport is only 20 minutes away; Cork Airport is an hour and 30 minutes,” she added.

It was recently reported that business tourism in Ireland is under threat from a lack of hotels in city centres.

Fáilte Ireland business tourism forum said a major worry at the moment is the emerging trend of hotel bedrooms moving towards the city peripheries as well as the upcoming closures of a number of hotels in Dublin city centre.

The forum also said that during 2007 it is expected that a number of major hotels in Dublin city centre will close.

“With the numbers of business visitors to Ireland expected to double to 600,000 by 2013, we intend to extend our facilities accordingly,” added Ms Flynn.