We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
TOURISM IS IRELAND’S largest indigenous employer and last year visitors to the country spent €4.6 billion, according to Fáilte Ireland.
That huge spend is spread out across all Ireland’s regions but the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) has collated the figures to see which areas benefit most from tourism.
Unsurprisingly, most of the tourist money spent in Ireland is spent in Dublin. Tourist expenditure in Dublin accounts for 43% of all the money spent here and in monetary terms comes it comes in at just under €2 billion.
What’s striking about Dublin’s share of the tourism pie is that it has grown each year over the past three years from 38% of the total in 2014.
In a commentary on the figures, the ITIC speculates that Dublin’s increasing share of visitor spend may be partly to do with the trend for more city-break travel.
The regions are broken down into the seven different regions that are used by the CSO and in those terms the southwest, comprising Cork and Kerry, has the second-largest spend by tourists.
Those two countries together raked in €849 million last year, or 22% of the total.
The border region, which is made up of the five counties bordering Northern Ireland plus Sligo, has shown the biggest growth in tourist spend over the three-year period to last year.
An increase of more than €100 million was recorded over that period meaning the border region has moved ahead of the south east in terms of where tourists spend their money.
Overall, annual tourism grew by over €1 billion last year compared to 2014.
Attractions
Fáilte Ireland has also put together an updated list of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, both paid and free.
The Guinness Storehouse remains the most popular place for tourists to visit with a total of 1.65 million visitors last year. The Cliffs of Moher was the second most popular with 1.43 million visits.
The National Gallery of Ireland was the most popular free attraction and was the seventh most popular overall.
Amnesty and others should be ashamed of themselves coming out with this kind of gift wrapped propaganda for Russia, theres only one side commiting war crimes and it aint Ukraine
@Buí agus Gorm: The rules of international humanitarian law are there to protect everyone. If you deny one side’s responsibilities you open up the Pandoras box. And a breach of international humanitarian law is not necessarily a war crime. War crimes are reserved for serious breaches. And you are right: the only war crimes that I have seen have come from the Russian side. But Amnesty should not be ashamed for standing up for international law.
@Nicholas McMurry: every rule is being broken by Russia who cares about the Russian pow’s getting a bit of a video taken of them they are getting off lightly.
@Nicholas McMurry: agreed. To put it simply, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Hang on a minute, they are not POW’s as Herr Putin has said it is not a “war”
I wonder if “organised” groups like paid Syrian mercenaries or Chechen terrorists are to be treated as POW’s? Given their track records of brutality and human rights abuses, they should be shot out of hand.
@Paul Shepherd: mercenaries are not entitled to combatant nor prisoners of war status afforded under the Geneva Convention. As for ‘terrorists’ if they are members of a local opposition, clearly identifiable and openly carrying weapons they are entitled to such status.
@D. Memery: I’m sure their victims will be relieved that their human rights will be respected.
@Paul Shepherd: perhaps you should direct your critism at the authors of the convention and the International Red Cross so! If you read the link you will note that although mercenaries are not entitled the combatant status they are permitted to be detained and tried for any crimes committed under civilian law.
If some dude came to my country and attacked my family n friends and then I captured him. I wouldn’t be caring if some yolk from the UN thought filming him was degrading. To be honest i probably wouldnt be keeping him alive in the first place.
@Rob Gale: What is the point in defending our values if we don’t have any?
I’m sorry but did Russia worry about all the innocents they have killed in cold blood? Women, children, the old and the sick. And those soldiers looked like middle Eastern blokes that joined up.
@Roy Dowling: oh b1. te me you @$$ wipe. I’m not gender biased I’m on the side of those unable to defend themselves. Why are there such €€jits here making such immature uneducated comments in the middle of a conflict.
@Anna Carr: hopefully I’ll never get close enough to you to b1.te you. People like you are why are to the problems of this world. You expect all men capable to defend themselves but no women are capable to defend themselves. Makes it more gender bias on your side.
I think Ukraine needs to take the high ground and not engage in tactics Putin would use.
Civilians didn’t sign up to the Geneva convention to protect Russian invaders. When this goes full guerilla warfare those sad phone calls will be public executions.
The general perception is that Putin started a war. I would suggest cautiously that Putin started an invasion. By way of Ukraine’s defence, a war began. Compare this war to the US troops exiting Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda (although already largely present with the country) carried out an invasion. Not a war. While I admire Zelenskyy’s bravery and hope the best for him, I can’t help but think he’s not being realistic in meeting Putin halfway. That Ireland voted to fast-track Ukraine into the EU will only stoke the fire. But then Ireland is just an EU provincial government. France / Netherlands who both vetoed the move is a tad more realistic.
have your say