B&Bs suffer 40% closures in decade as hotels prosper

THE traditional B&Bs beloved of countless generations of Irish tourists are showing a constant decline in popularity, with almost 40% fewer guesthouses operating compared with a decade ago.

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, confirmed yesterday that the B&B sector suffered another bad year in 2007, despite strong overall growth in Irish tourism over the past 12 months.

The number of nights spent in B&Bs fell by 5%-7% last year, while overall growth was reported in all other accommodation sectors except hostels.