People and place tops for overseas visitors

Fáilte Ireland data illustrates that friendliness of the Irish people and beauty of our landscapes remain our biggest assets.

Fáilte Ireland today made available findings from its 2009 Visitor Attitudes Survey which, once more, highlighted very high levels of satisfaction – with 98% of visitors saying that they would recommend a holiday in Ireland to family and friends.

The survey was carried out amongst 5,000 overseas holidaymakers who completed questionnaires between May to October, 2009. 

A set of detailed charts on the visitor trends in 2009 can be viewed - download the visitor trends pdf.

Commenting on the survey results, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Mary Hanafin T.D. said:

"We have so much to offer overseas tourists to Ireland, this survey affirms what we are getting it right and also points us to the way we can do things better.  The Irish people have always been our biggest asset when marketing the country, their friendliness is unparalleled.  Our beautiful scenery and cultural and historical heritage are also major factors as to why people visit and re-visit Ireland. 

“Obviously, the lingering perception that Ireland is less attractive in value terms is something we need to continue to turn around.  I know that Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland are out there fighting for every bit of business, actively telling the markets of the excellent value to be got for domestic and overseas visitors in Ireland in 2010. 

What we now must continue to do is to keep delivering a service which exceeds expectations and reward those who are providing top quality services to all our visitors."

Why Ireland?

According to the survey, people who have visited Ireland continue to cite the friendliness of people and the beauty of our landscape as the prime reasons for visiting Ireland – with nine out of ten overseas tourists mentioning these factors as important when considering Ireland as a destination.

At least eight out of ten visitors also mentioned the fact that Ireland was safe and secure, plenty to see and do, our natural unspoilt environment and our range of natural attractions.

Interestingly, the research shows variations between the different nationalities who visited our country. While friendly people (90%) was the top factor for British people when choosing Ireland as a destination, beautiful scenery (also 90%) was the top draw for European visitors. North Americans also cited beautiful scenery (94%) but this tied with history and culture (also 94%) as a particular draw for visitors from across the Atlantic.

Brian Maher, Head of Policy and Futures with Fáilte Ireland, noted that:

"This Visitor Attitudes Survey is very encouraging and illustrates very high satisfaction levels as well as a strong commitment by our visitors to recommend an Irish holiday to both family and friends."

How Ireland was Chosen

Today’s research also points to the information sources that visitors to this country depend upon when choosing Ireland as a destination. Word of mouth from friends, relatives and business associates continues to be the most influential factor influencing visitors to this country (51%). However, word of mouth is almost matched by the growing influence of the internet which is now cited as the primary source of information by 48% of visitors (in 2009) compared to 29% in 2005. Guidebooks remain an important source of information and interestingly, films have almost doubled in terms of their influence (from 10% to 18%) in the last five years.

Having chosen Ireland as a destination, visitors were also quizzed as to which sources were most important for planning their holiday and what they would do while they were in the country. Here the internet remains by far the most important source for planning (67%), followed by guide books (46%) and friends and relatives (40%).

The final verdict

More than nine out of ten visitors agreed that Ireland matched or exceeded their expectations - with one out of three tourists stating that the holiday exceeded all expectations. When asked why expectations had been exceeded, this group of visitors tended to point to the Irish people (44%) and the local scenery (41%).

Overall, when asked if they would recommend Ireland to friends and family, 83% of visitors said that they would do so unreservedly – the highest percentage in surveys over the last five years. A further 15% said they would recommend Ireland with some reservations.

Furthermore more than half (52%) said they would definitely be returning to Ireland with almost one in four vowing to return the next year. Along with this group, a further four out of ten said they also hope to return to Ireland sometime in the future.

Finally, when asked what they considered Ireland’s unique advantage over other countries, all nationalities cited the Irish people as the top factor that marks Ireland out as a destination to visit above other destinations. Overall, the following factors were cited:

•    Irish people - 40%
•    Scenery - 27%
•    Culture and History - 15%
•    English Speaking - 10%
•    Restful and Relaxing - 7%
•    Unspoilt Environment - 7%
•    Drinking and Pubs - 7%

Mr Maher added that: 

“It may sound corny but it is apparent that our people truly are our greatest asset. Overall, and across the main markets - Britain, North America, France and Germany - the Irish people are ranked as the top positive factor compared to other holiday destinations.  Indeed, British and North American holidaymakers particularly give prominence to the Irish people relative to scenery and landscapes, undoubtedly reflecting a shared and strong ethnic and cultural identity which in turn leads to a particular affinity for the Irish people. 

“Among French and German holidaymakers, our unspoilt natural environment works incredibly well for us with scenery and the Irish people sharing equal billing as factors which make Ireland special for the Europeans”.

Other distinguishing advantages spontaneously identified are our cultural and historical heritage - particularly significant for North American visitors who also (along with British visitors) appreciate the fact that we are English speaking. 

Unsurprisingly, ease of access features as a particular advantage for British holidaymakers.  An unspoilt environment is noted as a positive feature of Ireland by German visitors and  Irish pub culture remains on the radar particularly for the French, one in ten of whom single this out as a positive for Ireland.

More to do

The research also highlights some areas for improvement where perceptions of Ireland are not so strong.  The cost of living in Ireland remains a disadvantage relative to other destinations (with 25% spontaneously citing this factor). 

Mr Maher explained:

“We need to understand that this is very much an issue of perception and the extreme financial and economic turbulence internationally in 2009 would have to be considered as a contributing factor in visitor attitudes regarding value and the cost of living. That said, Fáilte Ireland is continuing to work with thousands of individual businesses to help them manage costs and deliver greater value in order to improve our attractiveness to the cash conscious consumer.”

It is likely that reduced circumstances for many holidaymakers will have influenced perceptions of around value and costs. This is particularly evident in the British market, where poor exchange rates will have had a significant impact over the year, with two in every five (41%) citing the cost of living as a disadvantage for Ireland as a holiday destination.

Regarding other traditional concerns for visitors, the news is much better. Issues which have arose consistently in recent years have included bad roads, poor signposting, difficult driving and inadequate or poor internal transport. Mr Maher stressed –

“With a high volume of car touring holidaymakers and a strong perception of Ireland as a touring destination, a well developed road network and good signposting are very important contributors to a satisfactory experience and it is encouraging to see a continuing fall-off in the proportions spontaneously mentioning ‘bad roads’ as a disadvantage - down from 17% in 2007 to 10% in 2009”

Likewise, poor signposting is beginning to disappear off the radar as a particular problem, with overall mention down to 4% in 2009, a drop of two percentage points on 2008 and well below the levels of 8 – 9% noted earlier in the decade.  Predictably, critical assessment of roads and driving tends to be higher among North Americans than any other nationality. 

ENDS

 

For further information please contact:

Alex Connolly
Head of Communications
086 7966320
01 8847884

Note for editors

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy.

The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 200,000 people and generates more than €6 billion in revenue a year. 

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