Guinness Storehouse gets 1 in every 2 holidaymakers to Dublin
This 7% increase on the 2012 visitor number sees the Home of Guinness retaining its position as Ireland’s top international visitor attraction.
Some of the high profile visitors in 2013 included Hollywood A-Lister Tom Cruise, Dean Norris (Hank Schrader in hit TV show Breaking Bad), Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane in Suits), The Script, Chris O’Dowd, Kodaline, Bell X1 and Hermitage Green.
“Not only did we welcome more visitors than ever before at the Home of Guinness to coincide with the year of The Gathering, we also hosted an array of high profile guests, unveiled the world’s most unique and innovative Guinness tasting experience ‘The Tasting Rooms’ and redesigned our new flagship retail store, part of our three year €10 million investment plan,” commented The Managing Director of the Guinness Storehouse Paul Carty.
Alex Connolly, Head of communications with Fáilte Ireland, welcomed the figures.
“The Guinness Storehouse’s impressive performance mirrors a stellar year for tourism in general – boosted in particular by Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Gathering’ initiative,” he stated recently, “Visitors come to this island to enjoy experiences that are authentic, memorable and enjoyable and with attractions like the Storehouse and the pitch of The Gathering, Ireland proved to be an incredible draw over the last 12 months for international travellers – especially those from Europe and the US”.
93% of all visitors to the Guinness Storehouse in 2013 were from overseas with France (up 36% year on year), the US (up 20% year-on-year) and the UK (up 5% year-on-year) representing the biggest growth markets compared to 2012.
The top-ranking nationalities were from the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy with August representing the busiest month of the year welcoming 134,403 visitors through the Guinness gates.
The Guinness Storehouse has welcomed over 11 million visitors since opening its doors in 2000 and it employs approximately 150 who cater to one in every two holidaymakers visting Dublin.