Kerry-based tourism booking engine Gulliver revealed that its flagship website Goireland.com has reported a 65pc growth in summer booking figures, with domestic bookings and bookings from the UK contributing strongly to this pattern.
According to Gulliver, Irish holidaymaker bookings jumped by 112pc, while 50pc more UK tourist bookings were recorded compared with last summer.
Tourists from the US, Italy and France also contributed to significant summer accommodation booking growth.
Hotel sector bookings benefited by a massive 109pc growth on last summer. Self-catering (48pc) and B&B (42pc) sector bookings also experienced strong growth.
More than 580,000 unique visitors visited the Goireland.com website during the summer months, a rise of 23pc on last year.
Gulliver-powered Goireland.com has sold more than 122,000 bed nights, valued at nearly €4.5m, to date this year. Volume booking growth has risen 50pc on the same period last year.
Tourism information and reservations provider Gulliver, which is 100pc owned by Kerry-based financial services player Fexco, reported almost 35,000 online half-year bookings in late July.
It is understood Fexco is hotly tipped to acquire another Kerry-based travel provider CNG Travel. Sources suggest it is likely CNG will delist from the London Alternative Investment Market if Fexco is successful in its bid. It is understood due diligence is being performed on CNG’s Places To Stay online unit although a deal may not be finalised until later this month.
By John Kennedy
