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THE GUINNESS STOREHOUSE has topped the list once again as Ireland’s top tourist attraction, after more than 1.7 million people passed through St James’s Gate in 2018.
It drew in an extra 25,000 more visitors than in 2017 and remains in the top spot of fee-charging attractions.
Behind the storehouse on the list is the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience which attracted 1.5 million visitors, followed by Dublin Zoo, which attracted over 1.2 million visitors.
A separate list of free-to-enter attractions, saw Kilkenny Castle Parklands make the cut for the first time – it jumped straight to the top with 799,032 visitors last year and knocked the National Gallery of Ireland into second place.
In 2017, the gallery drew in over one million visitors, but that plummeted by more than 300,00 to 775, 3824 in 2018.
Two major exhibits -Beyond Caravaggio and Vermeer and the mmasters of genre Painting – launched in 2017 in a newly refurbished wing, however, which lent to the appeal for tourists in Dublin that year.
In third place on the free-to-enter list was Glendalough, followed by the National Botanic Gardens.
A spokesperson for Fáilte Ireland, which carried out the survey, said challenges remain in developing and promoting a world-class tourism industry in Ireland.
Director of product development, Orla Carroll said: “While 2018 was a positive year for most of Ireland’s top attractions, there are many challenges ahead for the tourism industry.
“Our work with attractions in helping them grow their visitor numbers through training and funding is a significant part of what we do across the country.”
Overall, the top 10 fee-paying attractions are:
The full list of Ireland’s top 10 free-to-enter attractions are:
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Some improvement from 4 days and stops/hops.
Aptly dubbed the kangaroo flight.
@Eamonn Duggan: although, just because they can fly non stop doesn’t mean they should. 17 hours stuck in a seat is almost too much to bare. I’d still break up the flight by stopping somewhere in Asia. Nice step forward all the same. I’d say in another 10 years it will be half that.
@Peter Cavey: With scram jet technology we should be able to travel from Sydney to London in 2hours. Although we might have to be fit enough to be able to withstand the G-forces involved. Looking forward to the next few years of this hypersonic test flights.
@Peter Cavey: how are they gonna half the time in 10 years ??
@Paul Power: With supersonic craft on a sub-orbital trajectory, akin to an ICBM.
@Eamonn Duggan: It is a big improvement on “4 stops”. However I’m sure you are of the Australian route these days is one of three from Ireland.
1..Dublin – Doha- Australia ( various cities)…. Qatar Airways Daily.
2…Dublin – Abu Dhabi – Australia ( various cities)…. Etihad Airways twice daily.
3…Dublin -Dubai – Australia ( various cities) .. Emirates. Twice daily.
All routes take 16 to 20 hours depending on destinations.
I would suggest also the mid-east airlines are far superior to Australian carrier Qantas in terms of comfort and service.
Brave route, but doubtful if it will last.
That’s a long time to be stuck in recirculated farts. Wouldn’t do it meself but class that it can be done! I’m also wondering how many meals are served. 3/4?
@Gareth Wogan: and tbh all the worthwhile places to see in Oz are on the east coast so….
@Gareth Wogan: lot to see in the west. Just depends what you consider ‘worthwhile’.
@Bilbo Baggins: name 5 good things to do.
@Gareth Wogan: Personally I prefer western Australia. It’s a shame most people tend to travel up and down the east coast.
@Gareth Wogan: I flew the Dubai – Auckland a couple years ago, 17.5hrs. Think we got 4 meals in economy. Surprisingly comfortable and a very modern, up to date entertainment system. Made the journey much easier than I thought.
@darren: I was there few months back. I guess what I want to say is that for all that way to travel it doesn’t really have lots going on. Lots of wine tours and went to rottnest island which is cool but east coast has way more things to do. I should say that I really don’t like Oz anyway. Asia is the spot to go
@Gareth Wogan: I went to WA via Thailand and wish I had stayed longer. WA actually made me want to return to Australia to see the east side ( I went via Japan and again wished I had stayed longer). Although I will agree the east has more to do I liked the west better. Rottnest.. beautiful walk, I did that in 45 degrees which wasn’t the smartest idea! Would love to see more of Asia but I may have to wait for the kids to grow up now.
It’s about the same length of time as waiting in A&E in the hospital (17 hrs). so I could cope with That!
@Gerry Fallon: Very true, the A&E seats are not so comffortable and no food or drink provided.
17 hours is a long time to be stuck on a plane…I hope they show plenty of movies.
@CharlotteFrench.ie: They have are normal long haul flights
Time in the air comfort is down to the plane and the carrier.
787 Dreamliner is the quietest, most comfortable plane I’ve been on to date.
Qantas air cabin crew are quite cheery too.
If travelling for that length of time one would frequently get up and walk around. The 787
has a load of space at the back, larger than any other plane I’ve seen. This feeds in to a happier crew
and good exercise room for a passenger to ward off DVT.
Tesla time to step up your game…
@Karl Doran: Putin has this sorted. Just need to strap yourself to one of his missiles
I’d hate to be stuck on a plane for that length of time
A complete mare. 17 hours in cattle class on Quaintarse. Why would you do it. Insane!!!
@Alex Carroll: The novelty is the same as Concorde, without cconsidering the waiting time in airports.
Give us a break!
It’s not the first time, there were scheduled services before I believe using a B777-200LR (which to this day is still the longest range passenger aircraft excluding military tankers) Not sure which airline but I think it was quantas. They stopped it for a few reasons, as it was discovered that there’s only so long you can put people in economy. Then there was a brief period of business class only flights and in the end the fuel burn just made the whole thing uneconomic.. 787 fuel burn is probably what’s making this viable again.. anyone know if the 787-9 has longer legs than the triple?
Fair play, great to see this and will hopefully get faster in a few years time
It is a big improvement on “4 stops”. However I’m sure you are of the Australian route these days is one of three from Ireland.
1..Dublin – Doha- Australia ( various cities)…. Qatar Airways Daily.
2…Dublin – Abu Dhabi – Australia ( various cities)…. Etihad Airways twice daily.
3…Dublin -Dubai – Australia ( various cities) .. Emirates. Twice daily.
All routes take 16 to 20 hours depending on destinations.
I would suggest also the mid-east airlines are far superior to Australian carrier Qantas in terms of comfort and service.
Brave route, but doubtful if it will last for reasons above
have your say