Covid-19 restrictions cost Irish hotels €2.6bn last year

Latest Irish Hotels Federation survey estimates 9.5m bednights were lost last year as Covid-19 battered industry

The IHF is calling on the Government to put in place an emergency tourism budget to help the sector recover.

Irish hotels and guesthouses suffered a €2.6bn drop in revenues last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest survey from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF).

The 60% drop in revenue compared to the previous year is credited to the restrictions brought in to curb the spread of the virus, with the decline in room occupancy levels for the sector plummeting to a record low of just 30% last year compared to 73% in 2019.