Tom Breathnach's Travel Column: why a voucher could be just the way to support our hotels

"When it comes to gifts this year, it’s time to think a little outside the bosca."

Add the gift of Irish hospitality to your shopping carts this year.

My Christmas shopping has begun a little early. While I'm usually a bit of a last minute trolley dasher, this week’s developments of a Level 5 lockdown urged me to get out and stock up on what is set to be this season’s most trending stocking filler - Irish hotel vouchers. 

It’s been another harrowing week for the hospitality sector. At a time where hotels, guesthouses and restaurants should have been gearing up for their midterm lifeline, the latest restrictions have seen the industry grind to a cruel halt with reservation books red-lined for the second time this year.