IRELAND’S LARGEST TOURIST ACCOMMODATION SERVICE
CELEBRATES ITS 21st YEAR

Wednesday 21st November

The Irish Hotels Federation’s (IHF) international marketing drive for 2008 to promote Ireland as a quality tourist destination commenced today with the launch of the 2008 Be Our Guest Guide by Seamus Brennan T.D., Minister for Arts, Sports & Tourism. Now in its 21st edition, the guide is renowned as Ireland’s largest tourist accommodation listing, featuring almost 1,000 hotels and guesthouses from every county, ranging from small family run guesthouses through to leading five star hotels. Over 350,000 guides will be distributed in 22 countries in the coming months acting a key marketing tool in promoting Ireland at home and abroad.

The Be Our Guest Guide’s online facility through Irelandhotels.com website also offers potential visitors speedy facilities to book on line as well as access to best deals and special offers across a wide range of hotels and guesthouses. The IHF states that online booking of accommodation has increased by over 30% this year and is a key channel now for visitors – this, in combination with the Guide triggering people to study accommodation options before going online, is a highly effective marketing tool for hotels and guesthouses in Ireland.

According to Annette Devine, President, IHF, Ireland played host to some 7 million overseas visitors this year and the quality of product and experience here is fundamental to an enhanced visitor experience. The Be Our Guest Guide is a comprehensive resource allowing visitors to select the type of accommodation they want to suit their business and leisure plans.

“We estimate that some 10 million people may have used and read the guide since it was first published in 1986. There is no doubt that the Guide has developed and expanded on a par with our sector’s growth over the last 20 years. As an industry, hotels and guesthouses in Ireland continue to deliver the highest quality of service in a highly competitive market. While the www.Irelandhotels.com web site started out as an electronic version of the Be Our Guest Guide, we are continuously looking at ways to drive more business to the site and to improve its content. The value of bookings on the Irelandhotels.com booking engine has continued to increase, and in the 2007 calendar year is likely to reach a value of €5.5m, up from €4.0m in 2006. We will be looking for a multiple of this value in the years ahead,” she explained.

Sponsored by Diageo Ireland, the 2008 guide highlights the immense range and quality of activity-based holidays and business facilities offered by Irish hotels and guesthouses. In addition to the regional listings, the guide provides four comprehensive sections on Spa & Leisure facilities, Golfing, Angling and Conference/Meeting facilities. The guide features 152 properties offering luxury spa and leisure breaks, 333 hotels and guesthouses offering full golfing arrangements to their guests, either on site or by arrangement with local golf courses, while 108 venues cater for the needs of anglers. In addition, the guide provides a ‘Conference and Meetings’ section with details of 378 properties offering designated conference facilities targeted at business tourism.

Speaking at the launch of the 2008 Be Our Guest Guide, Mr. Seamus Brennan, T.D, states “The hotel sector is to be complemented on how positively and innovatively it has responded to the sustained growth in tourism over the past five years. The development of new hotels and the refurbishment of others has reached unprecedented levels. This year alone will see the addition to the market of 49 new hotels and more than 4,700 new hotel rooms, which are in addition to the 61 hotels and 5,590 rooms which came on stream in 2006. These hotels are entering an expanding market and while I am pleased that overall room occupancy increased last year to its highest level since the year 2000, I have urged the industry not to limit its ambitions in this area.

“The Be Our Guest Guide can play an important role in increasing tourist numbers and room occupancy as it is regarded as ‘The Accommodation Bible’ by many thousands of overseas visitors who are planning holidays to our country and by increasing numbers of Irish people who consult its content when planning a business or leisure break. It is an effective shop window for the owners of almost 1,000 properties who have the option of including images of their premises and personnel and of directing readers to special offers via web sites,” Minister Brennan concludes.

Dennis Markey, Trade Relations Director, Diageo Ireland, states, ”Diageo is delighted to be associated with the Be Our Guest Guide which is recognised as Ireland’s most comprehensive accommodation listing. Guinness is an iconic global brand whose strong heritage is immediately synonymous with Ireland’s tourism offering. Diageo are committed to encouraging tourists to come to Ireland and entertaining them whilst here through our programme of festival sponsorships.”

Annette Devine, President of the IHF, concludes, “Ireland’s tourism industry is on track for another year of growth with an increase of 4% in the number of overseas visitors to Ireland during the first 9 months of this year compared to the same period last year. With visitors numbers from Europe increasing by over 15%, growth in American numbers has been considerably less at close to 1%, while visitors from Great Britain are slightly down.”

The Be Our Guest Guide is designed for people to easily access information on the area they wish to visit, the range of properties available and overnight rates. In addition to property-by-property listings, the guide offers information for tourists on the country through road maps, notable places to visit, festival details and other regional information of interest to visitors. The guide continues to be highly regarded internationally as the ultimate guide to accommodation in Ireland by both individuals and tour operators.

In the domestic market, the Be Our Guest Guide is distributed by Fáilte Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the Regional Tourism Offices through their tourist information office network. The guide is also distributed through car hire companies and leading book stores in Ireland and the UK. The guide is available through travel agents and tour operators in Ireland, the UK, Continental Europe, North America and long haul markets. In the overseas markets, Tourism Ireland distributes the Be Our Guest Guide from all of their offices to both consumers and travel trade.

ENDS

FOR INFORMATION:

Siobhan Molloy / Eoin Quinn Tel: 01 6760168
Weber Shandwick Mobile: 086 8175066 / 087 2332191