TOURISTS IN IRELAND, be they from abroad or on a staycation, appear to be daredevils.
Despite gusts of upwards of 130km/h in late winter and early spring, the Cliffs of Moher saw an upsurge in visitor numbers.
Operators of the visitor facilities at the cliffs recorded a total of 177,878 visitors between the 1 January and 30 April this year – an increase of 6 per cent on the year previous.
This is despite the site being closed to the public on several occasions due to strong winds.
“Information on visitor demographics is still being analysed but indications are that the North American and continental European markets, especially France and Germany, continue to perform very strongly,” Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience said.
She added that the visitor centre is “well on target” to beat last year’s figure of 960,000 visitors.
“That itself was up 10% on the previous year,” Webster said.
However, the numbers so far for 2014 were boosted by a 57 per cent increase in visitors during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend.
The government has provided a significant amount of funding for key tourist attractions in the West this year.
These are located along the Wild Atlantic Way, a long-distance tour route which, when finished, is intended to act a major draw for tourists.
The 2,500km route will encompass 159 different attractions.
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