Laois' most popular tourist attractions revealed

The most popular visitor attraction in Laois last year was Emo Court Parklands, clocking in a whopping 238,039 visitors at the site.

Fáilte Ireland has published the results of its annual survey of attendance at Ireland's visitor attractions for 2023. The report released today shows a breakdown of how each county performed.

County Laois pulled in a respective number of visitors in 2023 to some of its visitor attractions. It is worth noting that participation in the survey was voluntary and therefore it is not a complete record of all visitor attractions that were open in Laois in 2023.

As well as Emo Court Parklands bringing in over 230,000 visitors at the site, Emo Court House also welcomed 337 visitors.

The historical site the Rock of Dunamase greeted 48,832, while Timahoe Round Tower & Heritage Centre saw 15,000 visitors.

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Donaghmore Famine Workhouse Museum had 2,486 visitors and Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery saw 2,126.

Despite only being open for 2 months during last year, Abbeyleix Heritage House welcomed 1,000 visitors. 

Some key findings in the survey showed that visitor levels in 2023 were 95% of 2019 overall, and were higher than in 2022 (85%).

The number of international visitors to Ireland has risen in 2023 to 57%, as attendance at visitor attractions continues to grow following the pandemic.

Dublin hosted the greatest share of international visitors at 68%, while Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands experienced the biggest shift from 21% of international visitors in 2022 to 32% in 2023.