WATCH: Limerick’s hotel sector saw highest national growth rate last year

LIMERICK’s hotel sector enjoyed a massive 119% growth in 2018, a conference in the city has heard.

According to statistics released by AIB, hotels on Shannonside enjoyed the highest growth rate nationally.​

Giving a range of insights drawn from examining card transactions, David McCarthy, head of hospitality and tourism at the lender, also showed business in Limerick from the North American market shot up 257%.

He was speaking at a special event organised by the Limerick Chamber in the Savoy Hotel this Tuesday, focused on retail in the city.​

“All of the data is telling us that Limerick is performing extremely well in all elements of the hospitality sector. Hotels, pubs and restaurants are all seeing double-digit growth or more in some cases,” Mr McCarthy said.

He predicted the growth would continue.

Elsewhere, Niall O’Callaghan, who is the managing director of Shannon Heritage, revealed Limerick is not exposed to British tourism as other parts of Ireland – something that could bode well once Brexit formally happens.

“Obviously Brexit is an unknown. While we’re probably the least impacted region in respect of UK visits to Ireland in the mid-west, on the flip side of that, consumer sentiment is weak from a domestic perspective and that's something that we just need to be cautious about. What concerns me is how the domestic audience thinks. Will they stop going to tourist attractions, the cinema, restaurants at the level they are now?”

He also raised concerns at the dominance of Dublin in terms of Irish tourism.

Also speaking at the event were Orla O’Connor, the web co-ordinator with Limerick Council, Linda Breen, the senior analyst on crime in the southern region with An Garda Siochana, and David Fitzsimons, the chief executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, who gave an overview of what retail firms need to do to survive on the high street.

The chief executive of the Limerick Chamber Dee Ryan said there was plenty of “food for thought” from the event.