Travellers from the USA and Singapore spent the most on Irish hotel rooms last year. That is according to the latest Hotel Price Index by Hotels.com

The report tracks the average price paid for a hotel room in Ireland by visiting country. It reveals that travellers from the USA and Singapore spent an average of €102 per night. For American travellers this was an increase spend of 9% compared to 2011.

Australia comes 3rd on the list spending an average of €100 per room per night up 6% year-on-year, while the Japanese upped their spending by 15% in 2012 splashing an average of €98 per night on their stay.

The highest paying Europeans were the Norwegians at an average of €99 per night while the Swiss tied with Canada and Israel spending an average of €96.

UK visitors increased their spend by 5% in 2012 to €88 while the Portuguese spent the least of the 24 countries analysed parting with a mere €69 per night.

Kate Hopcraft from Hotels.com said "Across the board spending appears to be up by overseas visitors in Ireland which is a really positive sign for hoteliers. It was interesting to see that visitors who had a long-haul flight such as the Americans, Australians and Japanese were more likely to spend more on a hotel than the likes of France, Spain and Portugal who had a shorter distance to travel".

This is most likely because long haul visitors tend to stay longer and are more inclined up to book a hotel with a higher star rating."

The Index is based on prices actually paid by customers per room per night - rather than advertised rates.