Vol. 442 No. 6
19 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade his views on whether self-catering accommodation has an important role to play in the development of the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Self-catering plays a very important role in the development of the Irish tourism industry. In 1993 7 per cent of a total of 3.2 million visitors coming to Ireland used self-catering accommodation as compared with 4 per cent in 1987. As to registered accommodation, numbers increased from 79,000 people in 1987 to 227,000 in 1993. Market share has grown from all regions, i.e. Britain, North America, Continental Europe.
Currently there are more than 3,000 premises ranging from group schemes, meaning eight units or more, to individual units throughout the country. Self-catering provides a direct input into the local economy, in terms of expenditure on food purchases and services etc. In 1993, 4.2 million bed nights, representing 12 per cent of a total of 35 million bed nights, were recorded in self-catering accommodation.
