Prices may have soared for tourists in Ireland in the area of hotels, food and drink - a representative from the Irish Hotels Federation believes that demand is driving the market.
In 2024, Eurostat compared countries for the mix of prices of their hotels and restaurants. It found that Ireland was 29.3% higher than the EU average.
In fact, the only country to top Ireland's figure was Denmark at 47.6%.
Economist David W Higgins told The Pat Kenny Show that accommodation and hospitality have been seeing cost of living pressures, and cites the relative lack of construction in hotels since the financial crash of the late-2000s.
“In 2009, we used to have 74,000 hotel bedrooms, but the latest number in 2024 showed 70,000,” Higgins said, saying also that using hotels to house asylum seekers is further reduce availability.
Mr. Higg also says that there have been a significant number of hotel closures across the country: “Towns that were in a bit of a run-down state during the financial crash never really made a full recovery.”
Expensive Ireland?
Paul Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation said that the prices hotels are charging are reflective of market forces.
“The market is growing so the demand for the rooms is growing.
He says people are comparing prices in Dublin to the “peak-demand nighnights,” citing the recent Lions rugby match and various concerts saying that these types of events ultimately “drive demand along with general business levels.”
Sarah Slattery, from thetravelexpert.ie, says she does not believe that the capital is much different from elsewhere when it comes to cost.
“[I don't believe] Dublin is particularly over-priced compared to other European cities."
Ms Slattery says that Ireland has become more expensive for things like food and drink, and that “we’re [now] competing with visitors that might go to somewhere like Norway instead,” a country that has been traditionally known for its high prices.
Ms Slattery said that reasonably priced hotels are still discoverable in Ireland, it just takes a little bit of research.
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