Dunbrody weathers stormy start to year

A huge spike in visitor numbers to the Dunbrody Experience Visitor Centre in April – coupled with a rise in tourists at the tourist attraction in May – has more than compensated for the losses incurred in the first three months of 2018.

Visitor numbers were up 48 per cent this April compared to the same month last year. Dunbrody Experience Visitor Centre CEO Sean Connick said: ‘I had to check the numbers twice; I couldn’t believe my eyes.’

When asked what he attributes the increase in visitos to, Mr Connick said: ‘We have been working hard on our sales pitch. They are mainly foreign, some are from tour operators who are saying they are fully booked up.’

There has been a marked increase in Brisith visitors, along with many groups from France, America and Canada.

Mr Connick said the centre has re-orientated its stock. ‘It’s a learning process for us to come out with our retail trading programmes. We have to look at the dwell time as we would love to see visitors move on up through the town. Whenever we have overspill we send them up through the town.’

He said the May figures are looking good. ‘We were down in January and February. We had no ship until mid-January as it was in dry dock. As a result we were down 2,000 visitors. We were just off last year’s numbers in March due to the snow and a cancellation from a French student