The Tourism Minister says the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) have legitimate criticism about the data provided on visitors coming here.

The federation has criticised the information coming from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) saying it is too far behind and means marketing campaigns are not correctly tailored.

Figures from last year saw 6.5 million visitors from abroad. Visitor numbers are expected to see an increase for 2013 because of improved confidence, an increase in competitiveness and an anticipated bounce from 'The Gathering'.

The initiative is expected to bring 325,000 additional visitors to our shores this year and over 2,500 events have been organised around the country.

Hoteliers more optimistic than last year

In a survey published today, Irish hoteliers are more optimistic about the outlook for the tourism sector. Overall confidence levels are up on last year with 51% of respondents indicating a positive outlook for conditions over the next 12 months (14% had a negative outlook while 35% were neutral).

Nationally, 53% of hoteliers are seeing an increase in business levels compared to this time last year, with key city destinations such as Dublin, Cork and Galway benefiting from event and business-related tourism.

The IHF says growth is also showing in the East and Midlands, the South-East and parts of the West coast. But levels continue to lag in the Shannon region and the South-West.

Minister Leo Varadkar says efforts are being made to ensure up to date information is provided.