DO YOU THINK Ireland is good value for money?

If you do, you’re in the company of the majority of tourists who took part in a new Visitor Attitudes Survey, carried out by Millward Brown on behalf of Fáilte Ireland.

The survey shows that overseas visitors continue to rate Ireland as value for money and that our people, scenery and culture remain our strongest assets.

So there.

Why visit Ireland?

Almost four out of ten (39 per cent) tourists said that their experience in Ireland exceeded their expectations, while a further 60 per cent said that Ireland met their expectations.

Why did people think Ireland exceeded their expectations?

For these reasons:

• Irish people – 68 per cent
• Scenery – 54 per cent
• Irish history and culture – 31 per cent
• Weather better than expected – 30 per cent
• Food quality and variety – 21 per cent

Will they be coming back? Over half (56 per cent) said they would definitely return in the next few years, while a further four out of ten hoped to return at some time in the future.

Plus, two thirds (66 per cent) of visitors said they would definitely be encouraging friends and family to come here.

Eight out of ten (79 per cent) of North Americans said they would definitely be endorsing Ireland.

Minister Leo Varadkar welcomed the survey results, but warned:

As tourism recovers, we must resist the temptation to fall back into the habits we saw during the boom. It’s imperative that we maintain our good value and warm welcome to ensure a sustainable recovery in the sector.

Value for money

When it comes to value for money, over half of visitors (51 per cent) described Ireland as good or very good value, while a further four in ten (39 per cent) found the value for money levels here to be “fair”.

While food and drink costs were a bugbear during the Celtic Tiger years, they were described as competitive disadvantages by only 9 per cent in this survey.

What they got up to during their visit

When asked what they did during their trip, the top five experiences mentioned by overseas visitors were:

• “Listened to live music in a pub” – 83 per cent
• “Visited a coastal town” – 82 per cent
• “Tasted a Guinness” – 79 per cent
• “Visited a food or craft market” – 49 per cent
• “Took part in a city tour” – 41 per cent

What do you think: Is Ireland great value for money?

Read: They love us: 11 per cent rise in foreign visitors to Ireland>