There is a lot of moaning going on - tourism in Ireland is falling, whichever way you look at it. Visitor numbers are down, revenues are down. Less visitors are also spending less per head than before. Well, we are in a global economic crisis with scarcely a silver lining on the horizon, so what do we really expect?
Recent numbers for some very popular attractions reflected the moaning and provided hard evidence that the market is slumping. Compare 2009 to 2008:
- Guinness Storehouse - down by 19,744 visitors or 2%
- Dublin Zoo - down by 33,531 visitors or 3.6%
- Cliffs of Moher - down by 44,552 visitors or 5.5%
- Book of Kells - down by 63,060 visitors or 11.6%
- Blarney Castle - down by 40,000 visitors or 11.1%
Note that these are all attractions that charge an entrance fee. And in many cases this fee is not on a par with fees in other travel destinations. On the whole, visiting an attraction in Ireland may well turn out to be much more expensive than choosing a similar attraction elsewhere in Europe. A current record holder? Not sure - but the € 17 you are being charged for visiting the Aillwee Caves might be a contender here.
So ... maybe time for a new calculation? The Cliffs of Moher have just done one, though this has already attracted criticism.
Not a bit surprised the Book of Kells is down 63,000 visitors a year what a rip-off ! You can see similar illuminated manuscripts at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle for free, check it out here at http://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/chester-beatty.html and there are no queues.