Fáilte Ireland has published the findings of a survey it conducted to find out what the most popular visitor attractions were in Ireland in 2018.
The national tourism development authority found that the Guinness Storehouse played host to over 1.7 million visitors in 2018, making it Ireland's most popular visitor attraction last year.
The Cliffs of Moher was the country's second most popular visitor attraction last year, with a visitor count of approximately 1.5 million, and Dublin Zoo was 2018's third most popular Irish visitor attraction, having hosted more than 1.2 million people.
Fáilte Ireland also revealed that Kilkenny Castle Parklands was Ireland's most popular free-to-enter attraction in 2018.
Top 10 Fee Charging Attractions
The full top 10 list of Ireland's most popular fee-charging attractions in 2018 is:
1. Guinness Storehouse - 1,736,156 visitors
2. Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience – 1,580,000 visitors
3. Dublin Zoo – 1,230,145 visitors
4. Book of Kells – 1,057,642 visitors
5. Tayto Park – 700,000 visitors
6. St Patrick’s Cathedral – 627,199 visitors
7. Kylemore Abbey & Garden – 561,657 visitors
8. Muckrose House – 550,649 visitors
9. Powerscourt House Gardens and Waterfall – 472,523 visitors
10. Blarney Castle & Gardens – 460,000 visitors
Top 10 Free-To-Enter Attractions
Meanwhile, the full top 10 list of Ireland's most popular free-to-enter attractions in 2018 is:
1. Kilkenny Castle Parklands – 799,032 visitors
2. The National Gallery of Ireland – 775,491 visitors
3. Glendalough Site – 732,824 visitors
4. National Botanic Gardens – 655,609 visitors
5. Castletown House Parklands – 642,278 visitors
6. Irish Museum of Modern Art – 505,891 visitors
7. Doneraile Park – 490,000 visitors
8. National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology – 466,038 visitors
9. Farmleigh House Estate – 389,932 visitors
10. Battle of the Boyne/Oldbridge Est – 355,608 visitors
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
