Tuesday, 28th November 2000

RECORD NUMBER OF PROPERTIES TARGET OVERSEAS TOURISTS
Ireland's Largest Accommodation Guide Announced

The most comprehensive guide to Irish accommodation aimed at promoting Ireland as a tourist destination is now available with the launch today of the Irish Hotels Federation's (IHF) Be Our Guest Guide 2001. Containing details of over 1,000 hotels and guesthouses comprising 42,000 rooms, 400,000 copies of the guide are being distributed to Ireland's key tourism markets, including the UK, Europe, North America and Asia, as well as here in Ireland. A key marketing tool to promote Ireland abroad, the Be Our Guest Guide was a strategic element in securing over 6 million overseas visitors this year.

Nearly 300,000 overseas tourists to Ireland last year engaged in hill walking, whilst almost 200,000 played golf, and 260,000 fished and cycled. To cater for the growing interest in activity-based breaks and holidays, the Guide has sections giving information on golf courses, angling facilities etc, and corresponding adjacent accommodation and other services. Besides property by property listings the Guide also contains road maps, notable places to visit, festival details and other regional information of interest to visitors.

To complement the Guide, the IHF has established a world-wide freephone reservation service. A corresponding website, which is an exact duplicate of the Guide including a picture of each property, local amenities and all individual details, is available on www.irelandhotels.com. To-date the site has been achieving in excess of 500,000 visits from potential visitors to Ireland per annum.

"In 2000 it is estimated that our 6 million overseas visitors spent over £2.6 billion in Ireland - representing a major contribution to exchequer funds and sustaining about 140,000 jobs. The Be Our Guest Guide, both in its printed form and on the Internet, plays a fundamental role in prompting people to consider Ireland as a destination to visit - last year alone 57% of visitors who came to Ireland were first time visitors, with 35% being repeat visitors. We hope our 2001 edition assists in increasing the number of people who choose Ireland as their holiday destination whether it's for a weekend break or long stay," says Mary Fitzgerald, President, Irish Hotels Federation.

Commenting today Mr Peter Philpot, On-Trade Director with Guinness Ireland Group said the company was delighted to be involved with the Be Our Guest Guide over the past 6 years.

"The Be Our Guest Guide is a clear indicator of the continuous growth of the tourism industry, evidenced by the growing number of additions to the publication each year. A visit to Guinness continues to be a 'must' on the itineraries of visitors from both home and abroad, and this link with Irish tourism is invaluable to us. Following a £30 million investment and approximately 700,000 man hours on the site, we are proud and excited to see the completion of what is forecast will be Ireland's most popular visitor centre - The Guinness Storehouse, due to open its doors to the public on December 2nd. Located in a 1904 listed building, it will provide facilities for up to one million Irish and overseas visitors annually".

A special emphasis in the 2001 Be Our Guest Guide is the focus on those hotels and guesthouses who have been accredited to the Irish Hotels Federation's Quality Employer Programme (QEP). The QEP initiative sets quality standards across all employment practices in the hotel and guesthouse sector. Premises who are accredited display a specific logo in the guide to help prospective visitors identify those who have attained best employment practices. In effect, potential visitors will know that these premises offer the best in terms of Irish hospitality and service.

Supported by Guinness Ireland Group the 2001 Be Our Guest Guide will be distributed all over the world through Bord Fáilte, tourist offices overseas, car hire companies, tour operators, travel agents and airlines. It is also available in all major UK and European Bookshops and directly from the IHF, 13 Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. The world-wide freephone number is +0800 36987412 (starting at 3 a clockwise rotation around the telephone keypad.)

For Further Information:
Siobhan Molloy/Ciara Sweeney, FCC Shandwick.
Tel: (01) 676 0168 or 086 817 5066 / 086 826 2280.

* Irish tourism statistics attached.

IRISH TOURISM STATISTICS

Irish Tourism Revenue

• Almost 6 million visitors (5.943 million) yielding £2.5 billion
• Tourism 5% of total Irish exports and 6.4% of GNP
• Employs 135,000 people.

Distribution of tourism revenue

• 32% of tourism revenue was spent on food and drink.
• 24% was spent on accommodation.
• 23% was spent on shopping.
• 9% of tourism revenue was spent on internal transport and 7% was spent on entertainment and sightseeing.

National Profile of Tourists

• 3.5million - British tourists in 1999
• 1.3 million - Mainland Europe
• 950,000 - North America

Regional Spread of Tourists

• In 1999 a total of 4,416,000 visitors came to Dublin.
• 2,946,000 visited the South-West
• 2,556,000 visited the West
• 2,117,000 visited the South-East
• 1,988,000 visited the Shannon region
• 1,872,000 visited the Midlands/East region
• 1,451,000 visited the North-West

Accommodation profile

• 30% of visitors in 1999 took up accommodation with friends or relatives.
• 18% stayed in guesthouses and B&Bs.
• 17% stayed in rented accommodation.
• 12% stayed in hotels.5% stayed in hostels and 3% camped or stayed in caravans.

Most popular time of year to visit

• 20% of tourists visited Ireland from October to December.
• 15% visited from January to March.
• 14% visited in both July and August.
• 10% visited in both June and September and April and May saw 8% and 9% of tourists visiting respectively.

Mode of transport

• 69% of visitors arrived by air.
• 27% arrived by sea.
• 4% arrived via Northern Ireland.

Percentage of visitors on first trip

• For 57% of visitors to Ireland last year it was their first visit.
• 35% were repeat visitors
• 7% Irish born

Age profile of holidaymakers

• 39% of visitors were aged 45 and over.
• 24% were aged 25-34
• 19% were aged under 25
• 18% were aged 35-44.

 Press Release Index