Fáilte Ireland has released the results of its 2015 Survey of Overseas Travellers, which reveals that Dublin, Cork and Galway are the country's most-visited destinations by overseas tourists while the likes of Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford are the least-visited.
The survey which is based on rolling, three-year averages, shows that nearly 5 million people visited Ireland's capital last year, close to 1.5 million visited Cork while Longford welcomed only 30,000 visitors, reports the Irish Independent.
Tourists generated revenue of €1,726 million for Dublin and €558 million for Cork, with those who visited Longford generating €8 million for the county. The survey results reveal that while Kildare is the thirteenth most visited county it ranks higher in tourist revenue at number seven, and contrarily Kilkenny was the ninth most-visited but the sixteenth highest-earner.
Unfortunately for Longford, the planned 'Center Parcs Longford Forest' development wont open until 2019 but will "have a significant economic impact on County Longford, the wider Midlands region of Ireland as well as on the national economy". The full lists below do not take domestic tourism into account.
Overseas visitors by county for 2015
Dublin: 4,938,000
Cork: 1,449,000
Galway: 1,354,000
Kerry: 1,026,000
Clare: 597,000
Limerick: 537,000
Mayo: 302,000
Donegal: 289,000
Kilkenny: 267,000
Waterford: 263,000
Wicklow: 248,000
Wexford: 221,000
Kildare: 214,000
Sligo: 186,000
Tipperary: 180,000
Cavan: 144,000
Meath: 134,000
Louth: 125,000
Westmeath: 116,000
Monaghan: 65,000
Carlow: 62,000
Laois & Leitrim: 57,000 each
Offally & Roscommon: 50,000 each
Longford: 30,000
Overseas tourist revenue earned by county for 2015
Dublin: €1,726m
Cork: €558m
Galway: €475m
Kerry: €234m
Limerick: €212m
Clare: €127m
Kildare: €89m
Donegal: €83m
Wicklow: €82m
Mayo: €80m
Waterford: €75m
Tipperary: €66m
Wexford: €65m
Sligo: €51m
Cavan: €50m
Kilkenny: €45m
Meath: €44m
Louth & Westmeath: €36m each
Carlow: €32m
Monaghan: €25m
Roscommon: €20m
Laois: €18m
Leitrim: €15m
Offaly: €14m
Longford: €8m
