Regions suffer as tourists opt for Dublin

IRISH people are continuing to turn their backs on provincial tourism centres and are instead flocking to Dublin for weekend breaks, according to new figures.

The mid-eastern region, embracing Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, experienced a 65% drop in the number of tourist bed nights in the first quarter of 2006, compared to the same period last year.

However, Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures showed that over the same three months, Dublin’s accommodation figures doubled.