4 out of 5 top tourist attractions last year are in Dublin
Last year, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin welcomed almost 1.5 million visitors - an increase of almost 230,000 (18%) over the previous year’s performance.
Among the nation’s fee-paying attractions, the Storehouse was followed closely by the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and Dublin Zoo which both registered significant increases in paying visitors during 2015.
Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons was in seventh position of the free attractions with 350,000 visitors while Castletown House & Parklands near Celbridge got into 15th position overall with 297,691 visitors last year.
Top 5 Fee-paying attractions:
- Guinness Storehouse – 1,498,124 (+18%)
- Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience – 1,251,574 (+16%)
- Dublin Zoo – 1,105,005 (+2.6%)
- National Aquatic Centre – 991,554 (-6.5%)
- Book of Kells – 767,996 (+18%)
Among Irelands ‘free to enter’ attractions, the National Gallery of Ireland once again continues to lead the way with numbers up 21% to over 718,000.
Also performing well were the National Botanic Gardens, National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology on Kildare Street and Farmleigh all making the top five.
The Irish Museum of Modern Art climbed the rankings to third place recording impressive growth of 58% which can be attributed to a more extensive programme overall in 2015.
Top 5 free attractions:
- The National Gallery of Ireland – 718,637 (+21%)
- National Botanic Gardens – 553,348 (+2%)
- Irish Museum of Modern Art – 485,702 (+58%)
- National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology, Kildare St) – 457,057 (+2%)
- Farmleigh – 410,076 (+2%)
Speaking today Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Patrick O’Donovan said –
“The wealth of the variety of our visitor attractions, whether free or fee-paying, plays a significant part in adding to the positive experiences enjoyed by tourists when in Ireland.
"The government has committed significant investment over the last few years to develop both new and existing attractions, and these figures published today highlight how such investment can return dividends.”