The Cliffs of Moher welcomed a record 1,427,166 visitors in 2016, however the popular attraction has "faced capacity issues during peak times throughout the season", according to director Katherine Webster.
It's the third year in a row that the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience in County Clare has recorded one million visitors within a calendar year. Marketing campaigns like The Wild Atlantic Way and the extension of summer opening hours has helped boost visitor numbers by 14 per cent compared to 2015, with USA tourists accounting for 25 per cent of all visitors reports The Irish Independent.
The attraction, which has cliffs 214 metres high at the highest point and range for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean, has become hugely popular and a primary reason for many tourists choosing to visit Ireland says Webster. However, she added that "dealing with this number of visitors is not without its challenges".
Introducing off-peak pricing for pre-booked groups as well as recommending sole travellers to visit later in the day has helped ease the capacity issues, with shoulder and low seasons seeing an increase in visitor numbers. December saw a 52 per cent growth in visitor numbers compared to the same period in 2015.
Discussing the efforts to combat capacity issues, Webster said: "This has the added benefit to the visitor of a chance to see the Cliffs in the light of the setting sun which is truly spectacular. It also favours those visitors who stay locally. We will continue with these initiatives and others into 2017."
