Tourism: Wicklow's €136 Million Business

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Tourism: Wicklow's €136 Million Business

Friday, May 10 2002

By Graham Caswell

For those who live in the Garden County it is only natural that many of its attractions can be taken for granted. Often it is only when entertaining visitors from overseas or from elsewhere in Ireland that we appreciate what we have in Wicklow.

The ancient monastic ruins of Glendalough, the beautiful blue-flag beach at Brittas, the delightful walks in Avondale, the rugged beauty and hiking possibilities of Glenmalure, the many houses, estates and gardens and so much more add up to a very attractive place to spend a holiday. And then there's the restaurants, the pubs, the hotels, the golf courses, the riding stables, and all the other venues and services catering to visitors. Why would one want to go anywhere else?

Hiking the Wicklow Way

Tourism is big business in county Wicklow. In recent years the Garden County attracted 580,000 overnight visitors who contributed an estimated €136 million of direct expenditure to the local economy. Of these, 294,000 were overseas visitors who generated revenue of €74 million.

These are just some of the figures that came out of the recent Annual General Meeting of Wicklow County Tourism, the body charged with promoting the Garden County as a tourist attraction and destination. Wicklow County Tourism is a membership-based organisation with members from hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and other tourist-related businesses in county Wicklow.

According to Bairbre Curley, the manager of Wicklow County Tourism, the objective is to contribute to Wicklow's economy through spreading the economic, social and cultural benefits of tourism through the county, to support the environmentally friendly and sustainable development of tourism and to ensure the highest possible standard of services for visitors. This is done through promoting the county to potential visitors and travel agents and through helping develop attractions and services within the county.

Wicklow Tourism also publishes a range of colour guides to the county, which are distributed at overseas and Irish trade and consumer fairs. There's even a Wicklow Video, in 4 different languages, and an upgraded website will be available soon.

Tourism's importance to the life and economy of the Garden County is significant, as can be seen from figures from recent years. In 2000, Wicklow county attracted 294,000 overseas visitors and generated revenue of IR£58m.
An estimated 580,000 overnight visitors stayed in Co. Wicklow in 1998 contributing an estimated £107million of direct expenditure to the local economy. Overnight visitors to Co. Wicklow make a significant contribution to a number of important sectors of the economy. The accommodation sector, for example, benefited to the tune of £30.1million while income from catering amounted to £28 million and income from retail amounted to £14.8 million.

It is estimated that around 4,871 full-time equivalent jobs are supported in Co Wicklow as a result of tourist expenditure taking place in the County.

Where the Visitors Come From

However tourism in Wicklow is not without its problems. As with Irish tourism in general, last year's foot and mouth outbreak was a disaster, as was the drop in international travel following the US terrorist attacks on September 11th. More recently the dismal weather hasn't helped either. Another problem affecting tourism in Wicklow has been an enormous hike in insurance premiums, whith some B & B and hotels facing increases of up to 280%.

But when the 'product' is the Garden of Ireland it's hard not to be positive. There's so much to see and so much to do and so many thing happening that the occasional problem only has a limited effect. The recently Spring Walking Festival in Donard and the Glen of Imaal is an excellent example of what Wicklow has to offer. Although only one of a great many festivals, summer schools and other events happenning in Wicklow over the summer it attracted over 200 participants, a 50% increase on the previous year's festival. The participants had a great time hiking through some of the most spectacular scenery in Ireland - and accommodation providers, pubs, taxis, restaurants and local shops all reaped the rewards as well.

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