A LEADING hotelier has called time on the increasingly popular stag weekends which have seen Dublin become the "in place" for pre-marriage celebrations.

Stag weekends are a business which Ireland's booming tourism industry can do without, Ryan Hotels chairman Mr Conor McCarthy said yesterday. Not only can we do without it, we must firmly reject it, he said.

Mr McCarthy said Spanish resorts lived for years on the attraction of cheap alcohol, and "paid a terrible price" for this policy. "Recently 32 hotels in one resort were demolished as part of an attempt to revitalise the industry there," he said.

He told The Irish Times that Ireland would be better served by chasing the quality tourism product, rather than chasing volume. "We have a very good product, based on our culture, heritage, warmth and friendliness," he said. "I don't think stag weekends fit easily into this product." Like Spain, he said, if we get it wrong, we will have to scrap it all and start again, "and I don't think we can afford to do that".

Mr McCarthy also questioned whether Ireland should proceed with a casino development. "I believe it is the total opposite of what we want to project for our tourist product," he said. I cannot really believe that at this stage of our development we have to depend on selling a casino licence to get a conference centre and sports stadium for Dublin." Mr McCarthy said the group's prospects for this year were very good, based on trading to date. Ryan's profits increased last year by 43 per cent to £2.8 million.