AIB Loans More Than €300 Million to Irish Hotels in 2016
AIB announced on Tuesday, November 22, that it had approved over €300 million in loans to the hotel sector in 2016. AIB’s Head of Hospitality Owen Travers said that the funding would “contribute to over 1,000 new bedrooms on the island of Ireland over the course of the next 12 to 18 months.”
A report by AIB said that, although Dublin City centre is an established international business and leisure destination, it remains undersupplied relative to the strong demand for hotel rooms created by the Irish economic recovery and the growth in international visitor numbers experienced across Ireland.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s National Tourism Forum in Killarney, Travers said: “We are delighted to support the new 198 bedroom Holiday Inn Express Dublin which is the first large scale new build hotel to open in Dublin in over three years. ”
Paul Higgins, Partner withthe MHL Hotel Collection, said: “ During 2016, AIB has supported the 66 bedroom extension to our Trinity City hotel, our acquisition of the InterContinental hotel and most recently, our acquisition of the Lifestyle Hotels portfolio which includes The Beacon, The Morgan and The Spencer hotels and creates the second largest hotel group in Dublin by number of city centre bedrooms.’’
AIB is one of the sponsors of the National Tourism Forum taking place in the Muckross Park Hotel, Killarney on Friday. The conference, chaired by RTE TV and radio broadcast journalist Miriam O’Callaghan, will examine international tourism trends, the future of tourism in Ireland, the impact of Brexit on tourism and how to spread tourism wealth around the country.
