Cork is primed for a €1bn annual tourism boon in the next three years with almost 1,000 new hotel rooms adding to supply but a shortage will squeeze visitor growth in Kilkenny and Galway.

Tourism chiefs will aggressively market the Cork and wider region to American and Canadian cities in order to capitalise on the first transatlantic flights this summer.

Optimism about tourism is its highest in a decade and the number of overseas visitors to Ireland has grown this year.