B&B Ireland say their bookings in Cork rose 17% last year, and overseas visitors were also up 18% – beating the national increase of 10% in overseas visitors.
B&B IRELAND say their bookings in Cork rose 17% last year, and overseas visitors were also up 18% – beating the national increase of 10% in overseas visitors. ‘We have launched a campaign across the county to recruit more B&B owners,’ said B&B Ireland’s Cork Regional Director, Bernadette Freyne.
Bernadette added bookings into Cork for the year-to-date, are ‘up an astonishing 47% which further reinforces the demand for B&B properties here.’
‘B&B Ireland alone had over 10,000 bookings in the county last year – that’s up over 2,000 bookings on the year before,’ said Bernadette, owner of Ardfield Farmhouse in Ballinhassig.
Bernadette said B&B Ireland are ‘excited, yet cautiously optimistic’, about B&B tourism in 2017, and attributed the phenomenal success of 2016 to a combination of factors.
‘The introduction of new airline routes into Cork to Madrid and the improved motorway from Dublin have had a big impact. However, there has also been a huge commercial demand for B&Bs due to the shortage of rental accommodation, particularly in the city. ‘As Ireland’s leading B&B representative body, we work with over 100 tourism & travel trade partners – such as ferry lines and tour operators – to promote the B&B product at home and abroad,’ says B&B Ireland’s chief executive Helena Healy. ‘That’s in addition to our dedicated website bandbireland.com. This creates a unique channel of business for B&B owners.’ B&B Ireland is currently recruiting B&B operators. If interested, contact 071 98 22222 or visit www.bandbireland.com/join