Tourism figures for Dublin hit three million for the first time in 1998, according to the latest annual report from Dublin Tourism, writes Alison O'Connor. Chief Executive Mr Frank Magee said it had been "another exceptional year" and visitors to the capital spent more than £550 million. An additional 27 hotels opened in the city but "in 1997 hotel occupancy levels fell. This is the first tangible negative effect of the huge increase in accommodation in Dublin over the past few years," he said.