The president of the Irish Hotels’ Federation, Michael Vaughan, said yesterday there had been a market failure in tourism in producing sufficient alternative tourism product from counties Cork to Donegal.

The mothballing of under-performing hotels has to be a last resort and instead efforts should be focused on increasing the numbers of tourists into Ireland.

All 62 students who graduated from the Shannon Hotel College of Management yesterday secured jobs before sitting their final exams.

SENIOR tourism figures in the Mid-West yesterday called for a memorial to commemorate Shannon visionary Dr Brendan O’Regan.