Guinness settles at top of most-visited list
According to Fáilte Ireland, the world-famous Guinness Storehouse was Ireland’s most visited attraction last year with more than one million visitors coming through its doors. In second place on the list was Dublin Zoo, which attracted crowds of more than 930,000 in 2008.
In third place were the stunning Cliffs of Moher in Clare, attracting 808,000 visitors last year.
The famous 700ft cliffs are on the final shortlist of an international competition to find the New Seven Wonders of Nature.
Bord Fáilte believes that visitor numbers could increase by as many as 350,000 every year if the internationally renowned attraction is selected as one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature.
The National Gallery of Ireland came top of the free attractions list, recording almost 250,000 visitors last year.
Of the top 20 fee-paying attractions visited in 2008, almost half were located in Dublin, highlighting the lack of geographical spread in terms of quality fee-paying attractions outside of the capital.
Commenting on the figures, director of business development and investment at Fáilte Ireland, Paul Keely, said cultural tourism was worth an estimated €2 billion to the Irish economy every year.
“Despite the difficult year and downturn, these figures highlight once again the popularity of our visitor attractions and the integral part they play in the overall visitor experience.
“With cultural tourists spending almost double the amount of a city-break tourist, it is estimated that the cultural tourism sector is worth €2 billion to the Irish economy every year,” he said.
The Fáilte Ireland research shows that almost 3.4 million overseas visitors engaged in cultural and historical visits when in Ireland last year, showing that such tourism is high on visitors’ agendas.
This is supported by the fact that 51% of visitors to Ireland cited a cultural or historical interest as their reason for choosing Ireland as a holiday destination.
However, latest CSO figures show overseas visitors were down by more than 10% in the first half of this year.
The tourism industry has admitted it has been one of the toughest periods it has ever faced as the country welcomed almost 400,000 less visitors between January and June.
