Fáilte Ireland has today published the results of its annual survey of attendance at Ireland’s visitor attractions for 2023. Key highlights from the survey include:
1. Increasing Visitor Numbers: Visitor levels in 2023 were 95% of 2019 overall, higher than in 2022 (85%) – based on attractions that provided their visitor figures every year since 2019.
2. International Visitors on the Rise: The share of international visitors attending visitor attractions continued to grow post pandemic, reaching 57% in 2023. Dublin hosted the greatest share of international visitors at 68%, while Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands experienced the biggest shift from 21% of international visitors in 2022 to 32% in 2023.
3. Online Booking Trends: The adoption of online booking has levelled off with 65% of attractions offering online booking in 2023. Heritage parks, leisure, and theme parks were the most likely to offer online booking.
4. Walk-Up Visitors Dominate: Despite the increase in online booking capabilities, walk-up visitors remained the most common type of visitor for all attraction types in 2023, averaging 65%.
Speaking about the report, Mary Stack, Head of Visitor Attractions at Fáilte Ireland said: Our visitor attractions play a crucial role in strengthening Ireland’s appeal as a destination and provides visitors with the opportunity to fully experience our country’s distinctive culture, heritage and history. With popular sites across all four of Fáilte Ireland’s regional brands – the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, and Dublin – these attractions also encourage visitors to explore further and extend their trips beyond the peak season.
The full report with county by county breakdown is available here: https://www.failteireland.ie/
Participation in the survey is voluntary and therefore this is not a complete record of all visitor attractions open in Ireland in 2023.
