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THE number of visitors to Irish whiskey distilleries was up 11% in 2017, it has been revealed.
This is good news for the local area with visitors flocking to the new Slane Distillery in County Meath and even more expected this year with the opening of the new visitor centre at the Boann whiskey distillery in Drogheda.
Currently, there are 12 distillery visitor centres on the island of Ireland with pland to open at least ten more in the coming eyars.
The latest statistics from the Irish Whiskey Association show there were 814,000 visitors to whiskey distilleries in Ireland last year and the numbers attending are up by a quarter in just two years, proving that Irish whiskey tourism is a hot trend and an increasingly important part of Ireland’s tourism offer.
This marked an increase of over 11 per cent from 2016, when 733,000 visitors were recorded.
More significantly, it marks an increase of 25 per cent from 2015, when 653,000 visitors were recorded.
In 2015, the Irish Whiskey Association published the Irish Whiskey Tourism Strategy to support this growth.
In 2017 Irish Whiskey Association members operated 12 distillery visitor centres on the island of Ireland.
This included two new distillery visitor centres which opened during the year at Slane Distillery in County Meath and Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin.
A new distillery visitor centre will open on the 21st of January at Rademon Estate Distillery in County Down.
2018 is also likely to see the opening of further visitor centres at new whiskey distilleries in locations ranging from Clonakilty, to Drogheda, to Dublin 8. In total, Irish Whiskey Association members plan to open at least 10 more visitor centres in the coming years.
Currently, a majority of visitors to whiskey distilleries in Ireland come from the US, UK, Germany, France and Northern Europe.
Irish whiskey distillery visitor centres offer a diversity of experiences, where visitors learn not just about the ‘grain-to-glass’ production of Irish whiskey but also about the people and places that define the rich heritage of Irish whiskey.
William Lavelle, Head of the Irish Whiskey Association said: ‘Continued double-digit growth proves that Irish whiskey tourism is a hot trend right now and an increasingly important part of Ireland’s tourism offer. Whiskey tourism is delivering tourists, jobs and investment to local economies right across Ireland.’