The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) fears a shortage of places for tourists in 2023 due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees accommodated in hotels and guest houses, writes the online resource rte.ie.

According to ITIC, almost one in four bedrooms for tourist accommodation is currently used to fulfill government contracts, and it seems that this number is growing every week.

"While hotels and guesthouses are part of the solution to accommodate refugees, they cannot be the only solution," said Eoghan O'Mara Walsh, the chief executive of ITIC.

Currently, there are almost 60,000 refugees from Ukraine in Ireland. A large number of them live in hotels, guest houses or other tourist accommodation facilities.

"The tourism sector can be part of the solution, but it can't be the only solution," O'Mara Walsh added.
The Irish authorities predict that, taking into account the ongoing influx of refugees from Ukraine, the shortage of beds for them will reach 15,000 by December.