Book of Kells sustains €10m revenue hit in 2020 due to plummeting visitor numbers

Visitors plunged after the exhibition was forced to close in March 2020

Visitor numbers to the Book of Kells exhibition reduced by over 70 per cent to 296,058 in the 12 months to the end of September last.

One of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, the Book of Kells exhibition at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) last year sustained a €10m revenue hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The college’s Library Shop also felt the full force in plummeting numbers visiting the ancient manuscript with revenues there reducing by €4 million or 77 per cent.