Just under 5,500 hotel rooms will be built in Dublin between now and 2020, with supply pressures expected to ease significantly by 2019.
According to an analysis of visitor accommodation in Dublin carried out by tourism body Fáilte Ireland, some 5,382 rooms will come on stream in the next three years, with the majority being accounted for by new hotels.
Of the total number of new rooms, it is expected that 3,444 will come from new hotels with a further 1,938 coming from the extension of existing hotels. Most of the new rooms will be located in Dublin 1, 2, and 4.
The research from economic consultants Fitzpatrick Associates forecasts that demand growth in the Irish market will be between 2.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent a year up to 2020. The lowest level of growth was consistent with World Tourism Organisation forecasts for visitor growth in northern and western Europe.
"With further visitor growth anticipated and the importance of Dublin as a gateway to the rest of Ireland, Dublin's shortage of tourism accommodation is one of the biggest challenges facing the continuing growth of Irish tourism," said Caeman Wall, Fáilte Ireland's head of research.
“The hotel rooms identified in today’s report that are due to come on stream represent private-sector investment worth €800 million or more based on current market valuations and are very welcome.
“The research is saying that supply will improve by 2019. However, we face ongoing pressures until they arrive and it is critical that the hotel industry keeps a watchful eye on competitiveness.
"If we damage our overall value-for-money perception with international visitors and buyers we will create a problem that will take a long time to fix," Mr Wall added.
