A night in a Limerick hotel costs, on average, just €74, according to figures released by hotels.com

This is four per cent less than the cost of accommodation last year, and €57 less than what a visitor to Galway would be likely to pay.

Over the past 18 months, seven hotels have opened in Limerick, bringing an extra 1,000 plus beds to the area.

However, in early September, the Hilton chain moved out of the city, citing commercial reasons, and was replaced by The Strand Hotel.

The hotel's manager, Limerick Chamber President Sean Lally was delighted with the findings.

"Our prices are 20 per cent less than other destinations, I feel this city offers wonderful value for money," he stated.

However, he called on the city centre to respond to these results by "making sure there is no litter on the streets, and there is a better retail offering."

Mr Lally, who moved across the Shannon River from the Clarion Hotel said the feedback he has received from new customers has been "exceptionally positive.".

"Despite the tough times we are going to face in the tourism market, we just need to work together to improve matters. The loss of the Heathrow route (last January] had a negative impact on tourism and business into the region, but now Shannon has secured other customers via new routes, it is a positive step, and I hope we can reap the benefits from next summer. When you look at things like Thomond Park, and the Rod Stewart concert it is going to host, it is fantastic, and the All Blacks rematch was fantastic for the local economy," he added.

According to the figures - which are compiled from data collected from more than 68,000 bookings made on hotels.com - on average, a hotel room in Ireland costs over €100 per night.

Nigel Pocklington of Hotels.com revealed that, according to their survey, Irish tourists prefer to travel overseas rather than remain on home turf.

"Ireland is the only country in our report where more people travel outside than domestically. New York, despite relatively high hotel room prices of €219, remains the most popular destination for Irish hotel bookers," he stated.