London is most popular destination for Irish

SURVEY:LONDON HAS topped the list as the most popular overseas destination for Irish travellers for the second year in a row, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).

The report shows that the UK capital was the most visited city by the Irish in the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.

The survey is based on internet bookings on Hotels.com which is one of the biggest hotel web portals in the world.

Though not a scientific survey, it is indicative of trends in the tourism market.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that overseas trips by Irish people fell in the first six months of 2011 – from almost 3.9 million in 2010 to 3.76 million – though no breakdown was given of the figures.

The CSO’s passenger movements data for the last two years also shows a modest decrease in the number of passengers flying into London airports. Despite that, the London-Dublin air route remains one of the busiest in the world.

London is followed by New York, Paris and Rome as favoured destinations for Irish visitors. The presence of Liverpool (fifth) and Manchester (14th) on the list may be indicative of the popularity of Premier League teams in both cities.

Recent research carried out by VisitBritain found that the Irish remain the biggest overseas visitors to Premier League grounds, spending around €145 million on a pro-rata basis. This gives an average spend per person of €884.64 per visit.

Six American cities feature in the top 20 of the HPI survey. New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston all feature on the list as holidaymakers took advantage of the strength of the euro against the dollar.

When it comes to holidaying at home, Dublin was the most popular destination for a “staycation”. Galway was second, Cork third, Limerick fourth and Killarney fifth.

The index found that the average price of a hotel room in Ireland rose marginally by 2 per cent to €81 in the first six months of 2011 – making Ireland the least expensive destination for a hotel room in western Europe.

Wexford and Kilkenny are the most expensive destinations in Ireland for hotels at €104 per night. Limerick has taken over from Waterford as the least expensive hotel destination in Ireland at €63 per night.

Dublin hotel room prices have risen 2 per cent from €73 to €75 a night on average.

Elsewhere in Europe, hotel rooms have declined in price because of the economic downturn.