The top ten fee charging and free visitor attractions in Ireland have been revealed by Fáilte Ireland.
Both the top free and top fee charging attraction were in the capital with tourists forking out to visit the Guinness Storehouse and also checking out the National Gallery of Ireland for free.
More tourists visited the fee charging attractions than the free ones. Three attractions received over one million visitors with the Cliffs of Moher and Dublin Zoo joining the Storehouse in the top three fee charging attractions.
Other attractions in the top 10 fee charging list include the Book of Kells, Tayto Park and Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone.
Here are the top 10 fee charging attractions in Ireland:
1. Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, 1,269,371 visitors
2. Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, Clare, 1,080,501 visitors
3. Dublin Zoo, 1,076,876 visitors
4. National Aquatic Centre, Dublin, 931,074 visitors
5. Book of Kells, Dublin 650,476 visitors
6. St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, 457,277 visitors
7. Tayto Park, Meath, 450,000 visitors
8. Fota Wildlife Park, Cork, 438,000 visitors
9. Blarney Castle, Cork, 390,000
10. Rock of Cashel, Tipperary, 372,503 visitors
Michael Ring, Minister of State for Transport, Tourism & Sport, said: “Our great variety of attractions, whether free or fee-paying, is an important part of our allure to visitors and add to the positive experience enjoyed by tourists here. Over the last few years, this Government has invested significantly in new and existing attractions and is committed to ensuring our attractions remain relevant and attractive to the visitors arriving to our shores.”
The tourism industry is vital to Ireland’s economy. There are more visitors to the country every year than there are citizens.
Business has been booming in recent years with many Americans taking advantage of the current strength of the dollar making it relatively cheap to holiday in Ireland.
Shaun Quinn CEO Fáilte Ireland said: “Tourism is on track to enjoy what could be a record year in terms of activity and visitors in 2015. With that in mind, we would expect the attendance numbers for most attractions to rise even further.
“We, in Fáilte Ireland, have invested quite heavily in our tourism infrastructure in recent years to ensure that Ireland remained an appealing destination despite the downturn. Now that tourism is on the rise again, Ireland and its strong collection of attractions are perfectly poised to welcome and cater for ever greater numbers.”
Here are Ireland’s top ten free tourist attractions:
1. The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 593,183 visitors
2. National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, 541,946 visitors
3. Doneraile Wildlife Park, Cork, 460,000 visitors
4. National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin, 447,137 visitors
5. Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin, 406,982 visitors
6. Farmleigh, Dublin, 402,773 visitors
7. Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons Kildare, 350,000 visitors
8. Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin, 306,662 visitors
9. Chester Beatty Library Dublin, 304,000 visitors
10. National Museum of Ireland – Natural History, Merrion Street, Dublin, 300,272 visitors
There are so many great places to visit in Ireland. Take a look at our tourism section to find out more.
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