Almost 60% of those who travelled to Ireland from the US last year visited the Cliffs of Moher.
A new report produced by the Cliffs of Moher Experience shows the US market continues to be crucial to the North Clare tourist attraction – with half of its visitors last year coming from across the pond.
The Cliffs of Moher Experience Activity Report 2024 has been developed by Clare County Council in collaboration with the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies at the University of Limerick.
The headline finding is that the Cliffs of Moher had just shy of 1.5 million visitors last year which is down 7% from 2019 but up 8% on 2023.
A whole 55% visited by car with 42% of these purchasing a ticket at the gate and 13% booking online, while 42% were coach visitors.
US tourists accounted for 49% of visitors to the attraction, with 8% coming from Canada, 6% from Ireland, 5% from Germany, 4% from the UK and 28% from the rest of the world.
The report notes that of those who visited Ireland from the US last year, 57% went to the Cliffs of Moher.
In terms of the attraction’s economic impact, the total visitor spend last year is estimated to be in the area of €19 million.
Of the attraction’s visitors who stayed overnight in Clare, 26% booked a stay of at least one night while 12% remained for at least three nights.
The experience used 268 suppliers for procurement of services last year, 41% of which are Clare-based with 57% within Munster.
Turning to staffing, 80 people were employed by Clare Tourism Development DAC at the Cliffs of Moher Experience at peak season.
Of these, 58% were earning above the living wage while 75% were residing in North Clare and 59% were living within 20 kilometres of the site.
