Irish hotels see 7% rise in occupants last year

More than 6.2 million people stayed in Irish hotels last year, an increase of 7% from 2010, according to the Irish Hotels Federation.

A spokesperson said the figures reflect a recovery from the disastrous impact of the volcanic ash cloud in 2010 which wiped out a lot of that year's tourism revenues.

The worst fall-off in numbers has been from the British market, which experienced an overall drop of 26% - down from 3.8 million in 2007, down to 2.8 million last year.

However Tim Fenn, Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, said last year saw the beginnings of a recovery in the numbers of British visitors to our shores.

He revealed that the number of British visitors who stayed in Irish hotels rose by 3% last year.

But he also said the sector is only recovering in some parts of the country, notably Dublin.