Ireland is set to become one of the biggest whale-watching tourism hotpots in the world thanks to the approximate 100 whales which are spotted off Irish waters every year.
The mammals are in fact drawing many visitors from across the globe, planning a vacation to Ireland. Irish waters are thought to be home to fin, minke as well as humpback whales for 10 out of the 12 months of the year, which is in fact longer than most watching seasons in other countries.
There was more great news for Irish tourism with news that Trips to Ireland has climbed to 19th in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which is an improvement of two places on last year’s ranking. The report ranks each country according to its tourism friendliness.
In the last such report in 2013, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Ireland in 21st position. By illustrating improvement in key areas of importance in relation to tourism growth and attractiveness of vacations in Ireland, the WEF sought to move Ireland up in the rankings.
Renowned all over the world for its spectacular scenery, the popular Cliffs of Moher attraction has just received the accolade of the world’s best cliff view by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Magazine.
As the leading dance event on the Irish cultural calender, the Dublin Dance Festival returns to the nations capital from the 19th to 30th May 2015. The annual festival attracts dance artists and choreographers from across the globe to convene in Dublin City to celebrate and showcase contemporary dance with local and those on Ireland vacations.
France has regularly proven to be one of Ireland’s top tourism markets and Tourism Ireland are aiming to maintain the recent growth in the number of French planning vacations in Ireland with a new campaign aimed at the Paris Metro. France accounted for almost 455,000 visitors making trips to Ireland in 2014.
The recent spate of bad weather in Ireland does not seem to have stopped record numbers of visitors planning a trip to Ireland. Record numbers, particularly from Europe are pouring in to see us without a care in the world about the ever-changing Irish climate.
An estimated 288,000 visitors passed through Dublin Airport over the Bank Holiday Weekend with tourists from many destinations jetting in to take in the sights of Dublin and it’s neighbouring tourist hot spots. This is a 14 percent increase on the same period in 2014.
The town of Schull in County Cork will play host to the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival between the 20th and 24th May. This truly unique film festival is an ‘up close and personal’ five day event, where the audience, up and coming filmmakers, internationally acclaimed directors, producers, and invited guest speakers can share ideas and engage with each other.
The popular five-day Cork International Choral Music Festival is set to return to the city by the River Lee this May bank holiday weekend. The festival, which commences on Wednesday the 29th April is set to showcase the best and the finest in amateur Irish and international choirs who will battle it out for honours. People taking a trip to Cork this weekend can enjoy informal pop-up performances throughout the city by the Lee.
Tourism Ireland is seeking to grow the number of visitors from Australia enjoying a holiday in Ireland by almost 20% with the launch a new three year promotional strategy.
It is hoped that visitor numbers will reach as many as 200,000 by 2017 as a result of the campaign. It is estimated that the number of visitors who have made the trip to Ireland from Australia has grown by more than 40% since 2010, reaching 180,000 last year.
