The magical festive celebrations will be present during a trip to Ireland this Christmas, and the world renowned Dublin Zoo will be no different with Santa Claus himself due to visit between the 29th November and 24th December.
The Zoo, located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin City centre, will be transformed into an enchanting winter wonderland with its very own Grotto which will be a hive of activity with Santa’s elves hard at work in preparation for Christmas Day.
The festive season may be upon us but that shouldn’t deter visitors and those enjoying a vacation in Ireland from experiencing the great landscapes and vistas that the Emerald Isle has to offer. One such event in Ireland over the Christmas period that gives visitors a chance to explore the stunning West of Ireland is The Connemara Four Seasons Winter Walking Festival between the 24th and 26th December.
Dust off your Santa hat and get into the festive spirit as Christmas in Cork has officially begun with the launch of Glow festival. A festival for all ages, not only is there a range of culinary delights to enjoy at various stalls, Bishop Lucey Park has also been transformed into a Winter wonderland with a “night before Christmas” theme- a 3D version of the famous book with real-life characters and original music (Friday-Sunday 4pm-8pm)
It is hoped that 2015 will be a bonanza year for tourism in Ireland according to the country’s national body responsible for tourism – Tourism Ireland. The national authority anticipates that as many as 7.74 million visitors will make the trip to Ireland in 2015 which will see a significant benefit to the local economy of approximately €4 billion ($5 billion).
If this figure was surpassed then the previous record set in 2007 would be broken and would mark a 6% growth on the total tourism figure for 2014, which is projected to reach 7.3 million visitors. Close to 14% of those enjoying a vacation in Ireland originated from North America.
The towns of Westport in County Mayo and Kinsale in West Cork have been crowned the 2014 National Large Tourism Town and National Small Tourism Town at the recent Failte Ireland Tourism Towns Awards.
The two towns were chosen from a shortlist of ten top tourism towns. The remaining eight towns on the list are all set to receive certificates of merit to acknowledge their own performances in reaching out and attracting visitors to create the ultimate and best possible tourism experience.
Lonely Planet’s influential travel guide recently listed Ireland in the top 5 countries in the world to visit in 2015. Not only did Ireland receive such a high accolade in the prestigious travel guide, this December’s issue of the Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine also listed Ireland again as “one of the world’s hottest destinations for 2015”.
Aer Lingus have recently announced new direct flights from Washington DC, San Francisco, New York and Orlando. These are planned as part of the airline’s Summer 2015 schedule. The Washington DC flight in particular is set to run four times a week.
For those planning a vacation in Ireland and the south west of the country, Kenmare town which is situated in County Kerry is well worth a visit. Not only does the town act as a gateway to the spectacular scenery and attractions of the Ring of Kerry, the popular tourist town of Kenmare is only a short drive from West Cork and the range of attractions it has on offer.
This month, from the 28th to the 30th November the town is also hosting the popular Kenmare Choral Festival. Now in its third year, the festival extends a warm welcome each year for choirs to come and participate in the event. In a bid to promote the beautiful art form of choral music to the public and to those planning a trip to Ireland, the festival organisers are hosting a range of concerts, competitions and other events during the three day long festival.
Ireland is well known for its rich cinematic history and continued interest in the silver screen with numerous film and short film festivals taking place across the country throughout the year. However, Kilkenny City will be playing host to a film festival with a difference with SUBTITLE European Film Festival taking place between 24th and 30th November 2014.
According to the New York Times recent feature called; “things to do in 36 hours in Dublin”, the city is found to have gone through tumultuous changes in recent years. Gone are the Celtic Tiger Years with Dublin now offering something very different to those planning on taking a vacation in Ireland.
