Table of Contents Market Summaries... TABLES Visitor Numbers to Dublin... 5 Profile of Overseas Visitors to Dublin... 5 Profile of Overseas Holidaymakers to Dublin... 7 Accommodation Stock in Dublin... Top Visitor Attractions in Dublin... Dublin attracted an estimated 3.5 million overseas tourists in 200, almost half of whom were on holiday. Mainland and Britain each accounted for more than a third of these visitors while more than half a million North ns spent at least one night in the capital. Dublin Overseas Visitors (000s) 200, 257, 7% North, 608, 8% Britain,,264, 36% Mainland,,355, 39% One in three euro spent in Ireland by overseas visitors were spent in Dublin. Mainland accounted for a higher proportion of revenue (43%) than visits (39%).
4600 4400 4200 4000 3800 3600 3400 3200 3000 Visitor Nos (000s) 999 2000 200 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 200 (p) Visitor Nos (000s) Poly. (Visitor Nos (000s)) While Dublin saw significant growth through the early years of the century, the number of overseas visitors, in particular, British visitors has sharply declined in recent years due to economic uncertainty and consequent changes in travel behaviour. The British Market to Dublin British Visitors The British market is fairly evenly divided between holidaymakers, those travelling on business and visits to friends and family. They tend to arrive by air and are well spread throughout the year. British visitors favour hotel accommodation, however almost half of all nights generated are spent in the homes of friends and/or relatives (one in five British visitors to Dublin is Irish-born). They are unlikely to travel beyond the capital. Almost two thirds have been to Ireland before and a similar proportion travel alone. This corresponds to the relatively high proportion that are travelling either on business or to visit friends and family. British Holidaymakers 2
Almost half of British holidaymakers travel to Dublin during the first and last quarters of the year and nine in ten arrive by air. They tend to stay exclusively in Dublin - two in five say they are on a city break and almost twothirds are on a Dublin Break (staying only in Dublin for a maximum of three nights). In keeping with this, few use a car and tend to get around the city on foot and on public transport. Hotels are their preferred form of accommodation. They are independent travellers and almost half are under 35 years of age. The an Market to Dublin Mainland an Visitors More than half of an visitors to Dublin are on holiday and almost a quarter are visiting friends or family. Air is the usual form of access to Dublin and more than half of an visitors arrive between May and September. Hotels and the homes of family and friends are the preferred places to stay, however more than a quarter of nights are spent in rented accommodation, boosted by longer rentals for some coming for business or study. They are less likely to travel outside of Dublin and tend to be on their first visit to Ireland. More than half are under 35 years of age and they travel either on their own or as couples. an Holidaymakers The months of June to September attract almost three in five an holidaymakers and they tend to arrive in Dublin by air. More than half stay in hotels and one in five stay in hostels. Half describe their holiday as a city break and one in five are on a Dublin Break (staying only in Dublin for a maximum of three nights). Less than a third use a car while in Ireland, preferring to walk or use public transport. As air travel is the preferred form of access, it follows that most of those who use a car hire one (26%). The majority (66%) are white collar workers and more than half are under 35 years of age. While the majority (57%) described 3
themselves as single, the largest proportion (40%) are travelling as couples. They are most likely to be on their first visit to Ireland and are independent travellers. The North n Market to Dublin North n Visitors Two thirds of North n visitors to Dublin are on holiday and almost half come to Ireland between June and September. A further quarter were either on business or visiting family or friends. Three in five arrive direct by air on transatlantic routes, with the remainder primarily arriving by air from Britain or Mainland and a minority coming by sea. While two-thirds of North ns use hotels, more than a quarter of North n bednights are spent in rented accommodation (primarily due to longer rentals for business or study purposes). Unlike British or other an visitors, they tend to travel around the country with more than a third also spending at least one night in the South West. Almost two thirds are on their first visit to Ireland while a significant 30% are repeat visitor and more than half travel alone. Around a quarter are managers or professionals and one in five is aged between 45 and 54 years. North n Holidaymakers Two-thirds arrive between May and September and most arrive by air, a slightly higher proportion (59%) arriving directly from North and 40% travelling through Britain or. Almost three-quarters of North n holidaymakers (73%) stay in hotels which account for almost two-thirds of North n holiday nights. They have a strong tendency to explore the rest of the country with almost half visiting the South West. Two in five describe their holiday as a combination of a city and countryside holiday. Over one third hire a car during their holiday and one in five take a coach tour involving an overnight. Almost a third (3%) are on some form of package which is a relatively high proportion compared to our other markets. Four out of five are in Ireland for the first time and almost half (45%) travel as couples. 4
5 Tourism to Dublin (Preliminary Data) 200
Number of Tourist Visits 2006 2007 2008 2009 200 (p) (000s) Britain,864,743,689,464,264 Mainland,483,7,680,588,355 North 732 76 674 65 608 226 235 267 24 257 Total Overseas Tourists 4,306 4,449 4,30 3,882 3,484 Note: The above figures are preliminary and will change when final tourism estimates for 200 are available from the Central Statistics Office. This will apply particularly in respect of Visitor Nights and Visitor Revenue. As a result, extreme caution must be used when interpreting the above figures. Due to changes in survey procedure in Northern Ireland in 200, the estimate of overseas visitors travelling to the Republic of Ireland via Northern Ireland included in the above estimates are not directly comparable to previous years. This is particularly the case in respect of British visitors generally and visitors to the North West in particular. Tourism Revenue ( m) 2006 2007 2008 2009 200 (p) Britain 396 372 388 322 253 Mainland 537 584 640 554 448 North 304 322 229 23 98 38 72 59 3 37 Total Overseas Revenue,374,450,45,238,040 200 (p) Visitors Holidaymakers Overseas Tourists No. (000s) Nights (000s) Revenue ( mn) No. (000s) Nights (000s) Britain,264 4,357 253 44,259 Mainland,355 9,533 448 685 2,773 608 2,975 98 409,469 257 3,007 37 29,072 Total Overseas Tourists 3,484 9,872,036,664 6,573 Overseas Tourists (%) No. Nights Revenue No. Nights Brit ain 36% 22% 24% 27% 9% Mainland 39% 48% 43% 4% 42% 7% 5% 9% 25% 22% Ot her 7% 5% 3% 8% 6% Overseas Visitors to Dublin Main Reason of Visit (%) Total Britain M. Holiday 48 35 5 67 50 Business 2 30 8 4 Visit ing Friends/ Relat ives 26 32 24 6 27 Ot her 6 3 7 5 8 6
7 Tourism to Dublin (Preliminary Data) 200
Month of Arrival (%) Total Britain M. January-March April May June July August Sept ember Oct ober-december 9 24 9 4 8 7 8 6 7 5 8 8 8 8 9 0 5 8 3 2 0 9 2 9 0 4 3 22 25 23 8 20 Route of Entry (%) Total Britain M. Air from Brit ain Air from Mainland Transat lant ic Air Sea from Brit ain Sea from Mainland 36 8 5 23 49-44 92 6 43 * * 2 60 4 7 8 3 * 2 Accommodation Used (%) Total Britain M. Hot el 5 54 43 64 45 Guest house/ B&B 7 5 8 7 5 Rent ed 4 3 5 4 9 Caravan & Camping * * * * Host el 8 3 0 0 Friends/ Relat ives 28 35 28 4 29 Ot her 3 5 2 4 8
Accommodation Bednights (%) Total Britain M. Hot el Guest house/ B&B Rent ed Caravan & Camping Host el Friends/ Relat ives Ot her 9 35 5 3 8 3 3 4 3 2 26 5 27 28 4 * * * 6 5 3 7 6 2 28 48 28 5 24 8 9 7 23 Regions Visited (%) Total Britain M. East & Midlands Sout h East Sout h West Shannon West Nort h West 6 4 6 8 5 8 3 6 8 6 6 4 4 35 26 9 3 7 20 2 5 5 6 29 22 4 2 4 8 5 Experience of Ireland (%) Total Britain M. Irish Born On First Visit Repeat 0 20 5 6 7 45 6 54 64 67 45 64 4 30 26 Party Composition (%) Total Britain M. Travelling Alone Couple Family Ot her Adult Part y 9 54 67 37 54 53 22 5 34 2 25 9 7 3 8 9 5 6 8 3
Social Class (%) Total Britain M. Managerial/ Professional (AB) Whit e Collar (C) Skilled Worker (C2) Unskilled Worker (DE) 23 25 9 26 26 6 53 66 64 59 3 7 2 9 2 3 5 3 3 Age (%) Total Britain M. Under 9 years 9-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65+ years 8 4 6 6 5 9 8 7 3 24 22 28 9 27 5 8 6 6 7 2 5 9 5 2 4 8 8 5 8 2 4 0 8 Holidaymakers to Dublin Month of Arrival (%) Total Britain M. January-March April May June July August Sept ember Oct ober-december 5 28 4 0 6 6 6 5 7 6 9 5 9 2 9 2 3 8 3 8 8 4 3 0 6 0 2 3 0 2 5 5 7 2 6 7 9 0
Tourism to Dublin (Preliminary Data) 200
Route of Entry (%) Total Britain M. Air from Brit ain Air from Mainland Transat lant ic Air Sea from Brit ain Sea from Mainland 33 9 6 25 65 43 88 5 26 - * 9 59 4 3 8 2 4-2 4 2 Accommodation Used (%) Total Britain M. Hot el 66 73 57 73 64 Guest house/ B&B 2 7 6 0 9 Rent ed 3 4 2 2 5 Caravan & Camping - * * 2 Host el 6 0 20 4 9 Friends/ Relat ives 4 7 4 2 8 Ot her * * * - Accommodation Bednights (%) Total Britain M. Hot el 53 70 47 65 27 Guest house/ B&B 6 4 9 3 Rent ed 2 5 9 9 39 Caravan & Camping - * * Host el 6 9 2 4 Friends/ Relat ives 7 9 8 3 0 Ot her * * - Regions Visited (%) Total Britain M. 2
East & Midlands Sout h East Sout h West Shannon West Nort h West 9 2 0 7 7 3 3 26 27 34 9 30 49 49 8 3 6 28 23 30 0 32 37 40 8 9 9 9 Experience of Ireland (%) Total Britain M. Irish Born On First Visit Repeat 2 6 * 2 72 45 75 8 82 26 49 24 8 6 Party Composition (%) Total Britain M. Travelling Alone Couple Family Ot her Adult Part y 2 23 20 8 30 4 38 40 45 39 4 3 7 24 28 27 20 9 Social Class (%) Total Britain M. Managerial/ Professional (AB) Whit e Collar (C) Skilled Worker (C2) Unskilled Worker (DE) 2 7 8 24 28 63 59 66 63 56 4 9 3 2 3 3 5 2 4 Age (%) Total Britain M. Under 9 years 9-24 years 6 4 8 7 4 3
25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-65 years 65+ years 6 5 9 4 2 26 29 28 20 28 3 3 5 9 8 7 6 6 9 5 4 4 8 2 4 8 0 5 2 0 Gender (%) Total Britain M. Male Female 40 45 42 36 38 60 55 58 64 62 Dependent Children (%) Total Britain M. Yes No 5 6 6 4 3 85 84 84 86 87 4
Internal Transport Used (%) Tota l Britain M. Int ercit y t rain 6 2 6 6 9 Int ercit y bus 8 2 2 7 7 Local t rain 4 5 6 6 Local bus 42 5 50 3 29 Organised coach t our involving an overnight ) 3 6 8 22 6 Organised coach t our not involving an overnight ) 8 0 6 9 Hired car/ minibus 27 9 26 37 3 Privat e car 6 0 8 2 7 Campervan * - - - Car wit h caravan * - * - - Mot orcycle/ bicycle * * Walking (for t ransport not leisure) 40 44 43 34 4 Hit ch-hiking * 2 Taxi 28 42 24 27 27 Use of Car (%) Total Britain M. Car brought Car hired Car not used 3 4 4 * - 27 9 26 37 3 7 87 70 63 69 Whether Travelling on a Package (%) Total Britain M. Package Independent 22 2 9 3 24 78 88 8 69 76 Type of holiday (%) Total Britain M. 5
A cit y break A predominant ly cit y-urban based holiday A predominant ly count ryside holiday A Cit y-urban and count ryside holiday 5 8 5 36 38 7 4 7 7 2 3 4 4 6 6 30 28 4 35 Promotable Holiday (%) Total Britain M. Hired car - paid accommodat ion Touring - paid accommodat ion Dublin Break Yout h Budget Act ivit y specialist 22 8 22 28 30 5 9 2 20 8 28 64 2 7 24 4 7 2 8 6 2 4 6 6
Value for Money (%) Total Britain M. Good Fair Poor 36 28 36 40 39 32 20 37 32 37 32 52 27 28 24 Accommodation in Dublin Approved Room Capacity 2006 2007 2008 2009 200 Hotels 5* 4* 3* 2* * Ot her Total Hotels Guest houses and B&Bs Total Paid Serviced Self-cat ering (Regist ered)* Host els**,832,832,6,492 3,668 3,803 6, 7,62 5,522 6,232 8,592 9,349 852 852 864 94 75 75 50 40,948 3,488 385 54 3,897 6,282 7,73 9,,799,64,474,343 5,696 7,896 9,87 20,454 60 60 59 63,492 7,755 8,892 90 99 46 9,85,223 20,408 2,770 2,54 2,560 2,776 2,776 63 * Self-cat ering regist ered figures are unit s ( e.g. houses) ** Host el figures are beds available. Top Visitor Attractions in Dublin Name of Attraction 200 Dublin Zoo 963,053 Guinness St orehouse 930,000 The Nat ional Gallery of Ireland 736,855 7
Nat ional Aquat ic Cent re 72,87 Nat ional Bot anic Gardens 533,20 Book of Kells 469,674 Irish Museum of Modern Art 408,000 St Pat rick s Cat hedral 300,2 Kilmainham Gaol 278,08 Farmleigh 267,904 Science Gallery 220,000 Old Jameson Dist illery 208,767 Chest er Beat t y Library 206,653 Notes to Tables: Note : Holidaymakers are defined as visitors who stated that their main reason for visiting Ireland was a holiday. Note 2: Approved Room Capacity is supplied by Gulliver/TAMS/TCS Fáilte Ireland Note 3: In the tables, * means less than 0.5%, - means 0%. Estimates are based on information from Fáilte Ireland's Survey of Overseas Travellers in 200, the 200 Visitor Attractions Survey and from the CSO's Country of Residence Survey (CRS) and Household Travel Survey, and Fáilte Ireland's Survey of Overseas Travellers in previous years. NOTE: Preliminary numbers and revenue for 200 will change when final tourism estimates for the year become available from the Central Statistics Office. Issued by: Policy and Futures, Fáilte Ireland, Amiens St, Dublin Email: research.statistics@failteireland.ie Web: www.failteireland.ie st September 20 8