Fáilte Ireland has published its annual list of top visitor attractions for 2015 in Ireland, with the Guinness Storehouse once again being named the number one choice for visitors to the country.
Nearly 1.5 million people visited the Storehouse last year, an increase of 18% from 2014, while other fee-paying attractions that made the list included the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, which attracted 1.2 million visitors, Dublin Zoo with 1.1 million visitors, the National Aquatic Centre which saw a decrease of 6.5%, falling just short of 1 million, and the Book of Kells seeing an increase of 18% to 767,996 visitors.
Topping the list of 'free to enter' attractions was The National Gallery of Ireland which welcomed 718,637 visitors for the year, the National Botanic Gardens coming in second place, while the Irish Museum of Modern Art saw a 58% increase in visitors to 485,702.
Discussing Ireland's top visitor attractions, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Patrick O’Donovan said, “The wealth of the variety of our visitor attractions, whether free or fee-paying, plays a significant part in adding to the positive experiences enjoyed by tourists when in Ireland. The government has committed significant investment over the last few years to develop both new and existing attractions, and these figures published today highlight how such investment can return dividends.”
While Paul Keeley, Director of Business Development with Fáilte Ireland added, “The top performing attraction – the Guinness Storehouse – welcomed 10,000 visitors on March 18 of this year which was a one-day record for the attraction.”
