Go hops! Guinness Storehouse our No.1 tourist attraction
IT’S the home of the black stuff, and it seems the Guinness Storehouse is brewing up a storm for tourism as it remains our No.1 visitor attraction.
The Dublin brewery, which makes Ireland’s most popular drink, isn’t just known for the sweet smell of hops it emits in the capital – the St James’s Gate attraction is a huge draw for its multiple activities.
And bosses at the brewery can once again raise a glass of the famous stout to what was another bumper year for visitors, with an estimated 1.74million people filing through its doors in 2018 – up almost 30,000 on 2017.
And they will hope to top that total this year as it is doubling the size of its popular Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse, which has stunning panoramic views across the city.
It plans to open the extension at the end of 2019. A spokesman said: ‘We’re looking to expand and have more space to welcome even more visitors so we’re quite confident that despite Brexit, we can still achieve growth in 2019 and we’ve laid the foundations in mainland Europe and long-haul destinations like China.’
The Cliffs of Moher took second place for tourism popularity, while Dublin Zoo only managed fifth after it was hit by bad weather and snow during 2018.
It was also closed during its peak period in August because of Pope Francis’s historic visit to Ireland, which saw him say Mass at the Phoenix Park. Dublin Zoo expected to decline 11% in 2018, from 1,264,300 to 1,010,000, with director Leo Oosterweghel claiming the Papal visit ‘pulled the rug’ from beneath the zoo.
‘We lost the last week of August which is our biggest week, the end of the school holidays. If the weather is good, you have 10,000 people here in one day,’ he said.
The National Aquatic Centre made a splash, meanwhile, coming third with an estimated 1.2million visitors last year.
And it was quite the pictureperfect year for the National Gallery, in fourth, which estimated it had 1.15million visitors.
Behind the zoo in fifth came the Giant’s Causeway in sixth, with some 1.04million visitors, and the Book of Kells centre, in Trinity College Dublin, turned over a new leaf – as it is expected to pass the 1million mark for the first time when the final figures for the year are totted up.
Travelextra.ie compiled the data and it revealed that eighthplaced Tayto Park in Co. Meath attracted 850,000 people to its animal sanctuary and fun park.
It was also a strong year for the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast, which drew 794,000 people, while the grand stately home of Castletown House in Co. Kildare welcomed 700,000 visitors, completing the top ten.
Book of Kells to pass 1million mark