According to a recently published survey by extremely popular travel review website TripAdvisor, a vacation in Ireland is on the “bucket list” of many Americans. The results of TripAdvisor’s bi-annual “TripBarometer” survey has revealed that a trip to Ireland ranks among the top three worldwide destinations Americans would like to travel to before they themselves kick the proverbial bucket.
The results of the survey which polled up to 10,000 American respondents saw Ireland ranking on a par with destinations such as Australia and Italy. According to the websites’ survey, the average American has set aside as much as $8,272 ($6,000) to put towards their holidays this year, this shows a slight increase the same figure last year.
The college American football tie in 2013 was a huge draw for Americans to Ireland.
The CEO of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, greeted the results positively and stated:
“The results of this TripAdvisor survey are good news indeed and confirm our own research that Ireland is high on the wish-list for Americans as a dream destination,”
“Our strategy is to reach out to those people across the US who are well disposed towards Ireland – and get them to book that trip to Ireland now.”
Maximising the potential of the vast American market is vital to the health of the Irish tourism industry, he added. It was noted that as many as 980,000 visitors from the United States planned Ireland travel last year. This figure surpassed the previous record set back in 2007. Gibbons went on to add that:
“We are also highlighting the many great festivals and events taking place in Ireland this year – including Limerick City of Culture; next month’s Grande Partenza or ‘Big Start’ of the Giro d’Italia; and, of course, the Croke Park Classic, when the University of Central Florida takes on Penn State in their college football season opener next August,”