The new hostel is planned for the former tourism office on Grand Parade.

Backers of a new Cork hostel say the city lags behind Galway and Killarney for budget travel accommodation

The backers of a planned new hostel in the centre of Cork say the city lags behind Galway and Killarney when it comes to budget accommodation for travellers.

London company Westhill, through an Irish subsidiary Bluescape Limited, is planning to convert the former tourist office on Grand Parade into a six-storey hostel made up of 48 rooms providing 284-bed spaces.

The development called 'Tourist House' at 40-42 Grand Parade will also include a ground floor bar along with shared toilet/shower facilities, laundry room, storerooms, rooftop terrace, reception, social area, kitchen and bicycle storage.

A spokesperson for Westlink said that despite its scale and status as the State’s second largest city, Cork is only 4th in terms of the number of hotels on offer," the company said.

"Cork has significantly fewer hotels than Galway and only three more than Limerick. In terms of hostel accommodation specifically, the outlook is similar. Cork lags behind other cities and regional towns in terms of the available offering, particularly in the most central and accessible areas of the City.

"Currently we understand there is only one hostel in the central island area. This compares unfavourably with Galway where 10 hostels were identified in the City Centre including one located just off Eyre Square. The hostel world website provides further evidence of the under provision of hostel accommodation in Cork. The site lists 25 hostels in Dublin, 13 in Galway, 4 in Cork and 7 in Killarney."