Food Research and Statistics

As part of the National Food Tourism Implementation Framework, research was undertaken both internally and externally to discover the value of food to the tourism market in Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland's Research Department provides key visitor satisfaction research which relates to how visitors perceive the quality and service, and value of their food experience while on their holidays in Ireland.

Our Tourism Facts publications feature statistics and detailed information about tourism activities and visitor attractions in Ireland, based on research from Fáilte Ireland, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB).

Visit our Research and Statistics section for more data related general tourism statistics.

Food Tourism Statistics

• Approximately 2 out of every 5 euro spent by tourists in the country goes on buying food and drink.
• Tourists spent close to €2 billion on food and drink in Ireland in 2009. Of the total an estimated €1.5 billion is spent by tourists on food, with non-alcoholic and alcoholic drink each accounting for approximately €250 million sales.
• Overseas visitors account for 60% of the total, spending an estimated €1.2 billion last year, while the expenditure on food and drink by domestic tourists is estimated at over €700 million.
• Tourist expenditure on food and drink in Ireland peaked in 2008, with an estimated expenditure of just over €2.3 billion. The downturn in 2009 reflects the decline in tourist volumes and expenditure when overseas visitor numbers fell by 12% and revenue by 19%.
• Food and drink represents the largest component of visitor expenditure in Ireland and exceeds the average expenditure on ‘bed and board’. An estimated 36% of visitor expenditure is on food and drink outside of accommodation. 

The Importance of Food in Considering Ireland for a Holiday  

A variety of high quality food is an important factor in considering Ireland for a holiday. Findings from Fáilte Ireland’s Visitor Attitude Survey found that for visitors to Ireland 57% considered thus attribute to be important and had ranked it 11th out of 14 influencing factors on choosing Ireland.

However, food was a relatively more important factor amongst British visitors, who place it 5th in ranking of the various factors influencing choice with three out of four rating this factor as important. One in four visitors firmly endorse the statement that Ireland has ‘a variety of high quality food’, with a further one third agreeing a ‘little’ with the statement.

Eating Places Used On Most Recent Holiday

% of Domestic Holidaymakers 2010

 

Usage of Food and Drink 

Pubs/Bars, Hotels and Budget Restaurants are the most popular eateries for overseas holidaymakers with almost two out of every three saying they eat in a pub/bar. Budget restaurants and hotels are used by one out of three, while one in four use a high quality restaurant.

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Visitor Satisfaction Levels

Food Experience

The experience, as regards food variety, exceeds the expectations for most visitors and comes as a good surprise for many. American visitors experienced the biggest surprise with the experience exceeding the expectation for 80% of them. The expectations were exceeded for between half and two thirds of visitors from each of the main source markets.

However, there is no room for complacency as the food experience failed to meet the expectations of a sizeable share of visitors, with 30% of British visitors arriving by ferry, 25% of Germans and 19% of British arriving by air, disappointed with their experience.

Quality / Service

Visitors rate the quality and service of the Irish food experience relatively highly, while dissatisfaction levels and disappointment against expectations is driven more by price and value assessment than failure to deliver quality and service.

Approximately four out of five are satisfied with both the quality and the service aspects of their food and drink experience while on holiday in Ireland, with service being rated slightly higher than quality in most instances.

Value for Money

Food costs are cited by 7% of visitors as a disadvantage of an Ireland holiday – the fourth most frequently mentioned complaint by visitors after the high cost of living (25%); weather (17%) and bad roads (10%). For domestic visitors, customer service and overall quality were rated higher than satisfaction with price, with approximately two out of three very satisfied with service and quality, compared to only 40% being very satisfied with price.

Hotel restaurants received the highest score for overall quality and cost, while other accommodation restaurants scored best on customer service. Pubs, mid/high priced and budget restaurants underperform relative to the average scores recorded.

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