A report has found that Ireland now has the cheapest hotel rooms in western Europe.
The hotel price index compiled by the Hotels.com website found that while worldwide hotel prices stabilised in the first six months of this year, Irish room rates continued to fall.
The average Irish room rate is €79 a night, down 4% from a year earlier. This is the cheapest in western Europe and the fourth cheapest in the euro zone - ahead of only the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.
The 4% fall in Irish prices was, however, much smaller than the 21% drop recorded last year. Globally, hotel prices rose by 2% in the first half of 2010 compared with a year earlier.
Dublin hotel room prices fell by 7% to €73. Kilkenny knocked Killarney off the top spot as the most expensive Irish destination, with an average of €123 a night. Sligo and Castlebar were the only two places in Ireland to show a slight increase in prices.
Switzerland is Europe's most expensive destination for hotels with an average of €138. Iceland recorded the biggest fall of 20%.
