Dublin top for tourist sites

Dublin had 15 of the country’s top 20 free and fee-charging tourist attractions by visitor number last year, according to figures from Fáilte Ireland.

The national tourism authority revealed that the Guinness Storehouse was once again the most popular draw for tourists, with 1.157m visitors, up 70,000 on 2012. It was followed by Dublin Zoo, with just over 1m visitors.

The most popular attraction outside Dublin was the Cliffs of Moher visitor experience, with 960,000 paying visitors.

The only other non-Dublin fee-paying locations in the top 10 were Tayto Park in Meath (435,000), and Fota Wildlife Park (365,396) and Blarney Castle (365,000) in Co Cork.

When it came to free attractions, the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin was the biggest draw, with 641,572 people viewing the artwork.

The only non-Dublin free attraction was the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons, a new entry to the top 10, with 350,000 visitors.

Fáilte Ireland said the top 10 fee-paying attractions in 2013 saw a 5% increase in visitors compared to 2012, while the top 10 free attractions experienced a 7% rise.

A spokesman for the tourism authority said the high success rate for Dublin attractions could be attributed to the fact that seven out of 10 visitors to Ireland spend at least part of their trip in the capital. He said Fáilte Ireland was concerned about supporting other areas, but was hoped the attraction of the Wild Atlantic Way would boost attractions from the western seaboard counties.

Shaun Quinn, Fáilte Ireland chief executive, said his organisation had directed significant monies into the tourism sector over the last five years with a total of €120m invested in almost 60 significant capital projects throughout the country.

“This year alone, we are investing €8m in capital infrastructure along the Wild Atlantic Way,” he said. “Tourism is in a good place compared to five years ago but we can’t become complacent. In order to draw more visitors to our shores we need to ensure we are providing the right type of holiday experiences.”

Meanwhile, a survey by online travel website trivago.ie has found that Irish travellers are staying close to home this year.

Based on searches made on its website between January 1 and June 15 for travel in July and August, Dublin was the most popular choice for Irish users choosing to stay in the country. For those choosing to venture abroad, London was the most searched, followed by Albufeira in Portugal and Puerto del Carmen in Spain.

Trivago’s research also showed that Ireland-based holiday-makers begin researching hotel prices 112 days before travelling and book an average of 96 days in advance. They will spend an average of €127 per night on hotels this summer, which is above the average of €119 recorded across 22 Trivago platforms.