Ireland’s Most Popular
Visitor Attractions
Ireland recorded a record 10.3 million visitors in 2016 which was a growth of +8.8%, faster than European
growth trends of +1.6%, earning the highest ever overseas venue of 5.3 billion euros. As part of this
report, Fáilte Ireland published their annual list of Ireland’s top visitor attractions with most attractions
registering strong growth reflecting the strong tourism growth in tourism during 2016.
The most popular fee-paying attraction remains the Guinness
Storehouse which experienced a 10% jump in visitors last year,
welcoming 1.6m visitors through their gates. Amongst Irelands
‘free to enter’ attractions, the National Gallery of Ireland continues
to lead the way with numbers up 5% to over 755,000.
Guinness Storehouse –
1,647,408 (+10%)
Amongst the nation’s fee-paying attractions, the Cliffs of Moher
Visitor Experience and Dublin Zoo both also registered very strong
performances last year with the cliffs enjoying a particularly
significant jump in business. The top five fee-paying attractions
during 2016 were:
Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience –
1,427,166 (+14%)
Dublin Zoo –
1,143,908 (+3%)
Amongst Irelands ‘free to enter’ attractions, while
the National Gallery of Ireland once again lead the
way, there were impressive performances from the
Irish Museum of Modern Art and Doneraile Wildlife
Park – the latter’s 11% growth allowing it to climb the
rankings into the top five free to enter sites in 2016.
National Aquatic Centre –
1,037,992 (+4.5%)
Book of Kells –
890,781 (+6%)
Commenting on the figures, Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, said –
“Our visitor attractions are a great barometer for tourism activity
and the growth across most attractions reflects a record tourism
year. This growth can be even stronger if we all work together to
unlock the further potential of our natural landscapes and built
heritage. If we take a site such as the spectacular sea cliffs at Sliabh
Liag, it has a similar appeal as the Cliffs of Moher – yet the latter
receives eight times as many visitors. This is just one example of
the many of our attractions and natural assets which have the
potential to generate even more visitors, revenue and jobs for local
communities. Failte Ireland is committed to work with all parties
to realise the full potential of these visitor attractions, we work
in strong partnership with local authorities and communities,
Coillte, the OPW and the National Parks and Wildlife Service
amongst others to achieve this. Together we need to do more and
move faster on this agenda and we call on all those who want to
grow their local tourism sector to work with us to deal with the
obstacles and grasp the opportunities which are available.
Ireland boasts over 400 golf courses and hosts over 190,000 golf
tourists each year. Worth an estimated €200m to the economy, the
sport plays a significant role in the Irish tourism industry. Ireland
also has fabulous scenery, culture, some outstanding golf links
with magnificent sea views, and our world-famous charm at the
19th hole.
Research shows:
Golfing visitors are much more likely to be repeat visitors and
those who return are also very likely to play again;
Amongst overseas golfers, North Americans are the biggest
spenders with an average per capita spend of roughly €1,800;
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• The National Gallery of Ireland – 755,577 (+5%)
• Irish Museum of Modern Art – 584,856 (+20%)
• National Botanic Gardens – 583,539 (+5.5%)
• Doneraile Wildlife Park – 480,000 (+11%)
• National Museum of Ireland – 479,261 (+4.8%)
Approximately 21% of expenditure by overseas golfers is spent
on green fees or other golf-related expenditure. This means
that ancillary spend by golf tourists to Ireland benefits many
other sectors, including accommodation, bars, r estaurants and
attractions;
As well as being a valuable sector, Golf tourism has also been
outperforming the general tourism market in recent years,
averaging 6% growth per annum between 2009 and 2012;
Overseas golfers are overwhelmingly male and affluent, with
90% being men and belonging to the affluent, white collar ABC1
socio-economic group;
In terms of age, 93% of golfers are over 35 years old, with half aged
between 45-64 years old;
Golfing visitors to Ireland are more likely to be travelling with
friends (44%) or as a couple (28%);
North Americans and mainland Europeans are more likely to travel
in groups of peers, while British golfers are more likely to travel
with a spouse or partner;
Ireland’s golfing tourists are also avid golfers, with nearly almost
90% describing golf as important and over 60% claiming that golf
was ‘extremely important’ in their choice of holiday.
Crucially considering the last point, Ireland continues to utilise
high-profile events to showcase its golfing product and is currently
getting ready to welcome the worlds golfing stars to Ballyliffin for
the Irish Open and The Open at Royal Portrush.
Information sourced from Fáilte Ireland.
For more information visit www.failteireland.ie