Government officials are set to warn the Irish tourism chiefs to rein in its soaring costs or risk damaging the country's reputation as a travel destination.

Today, the Oireachtas Tourism Committee will meet officials from several tourism bodies to discuss the rising cost of accommodation.

In opening remarks prepared for the committee, and seen by BusinessPlus.ie, Orlaith Gleeson, principal officer at the Department of Tourism, will say there have been an increasing number of anecdotal reports of "excessively high pricing" in the hotel sector which "could have a negative impact on our reputation as a visitor destination".

Ms Gleeson will also warn the sector against using the strong growth this year as a baseline for future years of trading "given the high level of pent-up demand and rollover business from 2020/21".

"We should be prepared for challenging trading conditions in 2023," she will say.

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In a briefing document prepared for the committee, the department warned that any sense of "excessive profit-taking" could undermine "businesses and Ireland's reputation".

Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly will tell the committee that in recent years Ireland's value for money score has been positive with about 8% saying they got poor value for money while 80% said they got good value for money. However, he said "early indications suggest these scores are likely to worsen over the summer".

The Irish Hotels Federation will defend its pricing, saying that Dublin has the highest bedroom occupancy rate of any city in Europe, at 83.6%, and that its daily average cost is €154.31, which, the IHF claims, is below that of Amsterdam, Rome and London.

"This average rate was up 16.5% on April 2019 but comes at a time when hotels are reporting spiralling operational costs, with year-on-year increases of 88% in energy, 18% in food and beverage supplies, over 30% in linen services and 20% in insurance costs," the IHF will say.