Website reports bookings up 50% as tourism sector booms

REPORTS of an exceptionally successful year for tourism have been reaffirmed by figures showing a 50% rise in bookings on one of the country’s most popular accommodation websites.

The increased business on GoIreland.com has been attributed to increased spending by domestic, British and US travellers.

The site is powered by Gulliver Ireland, which operates a number of tourism information and reservations sites.

It has recorded nearly 33,500 bookings up to the end of August, with Dublin accommodation accounting for almost one-third of the total. The capital had almost twice as many bookings as the next most popular region, the south-west (17% of bookings), with the west and south-east representing 14% and 11% of the business, respectively.

The bookings helped to reserve almost 165,000 bed nights around the country, at a value of more than €6.6 million to hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and other accommodation providers. The hotel sector experienced a 59% growth in GoIreland.com bookings, followed closely by a 50% rise for B&B owners.

According to Gulliver Ireland, the overall growth was sustained by a 73% jump in bookings by Irish holidaymakers, aided by a rise of more than one-third in reservations by British visitors. The other significant contributors were the United States, France, Germany and Australia.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released last month showed a 10% increase in overseas visitors in June, compared to the same month last year, to 750,500. More than 61% of them — around 461,400 tourists — came from the US, while the number of British visitors grew by almost 50,000 year-on-year to 360,500.

Meanwhile, Irish, American and British tourists have so far submitted most entries to the GoIreland.com Photography Awards 2006, for which the deadline is September 29.

Holidaymakers are invited to capture a photograph of tomorrow’s Ireland to contrast with the famous postcards of John Hinde, whose company is jointly running the competition.

The 12 snaps voted the GoIreland.com Photography Icons for 2006 will be reproduced in an original John Hinde 2007 calendar.

The overall winning photograph will also earn the winning amateur a luxury holiday including flights, car rental and four nights in the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin.

Runners-up will be awarded with a selection of short breaks.

More than 60% of entrants so far are from Ireland and the US, followed closely by British competitors, with Italy, France, Germany, Canada and South Africa also well represented.

Former Tánaiste and ex-leader of the Labour Party Dick Spring is chairing this year’s judging panel and said the wide range of entrant nationalities has established the awards as a genuine international tourism photography competition.

“Although the deadline is looming, both domestic and visiting tourists still have enough time to capture an image of tomorrow’s Ireland and enter this year’s awards,” he said.