A new report published by Fáilte Ireland has shown the extent to which Wicklow tourism suffered during the pandemic. Despite it showing decreases in visitor numbers and spend in the Garden County, a spokesperson for Wicklow County Council maintains that “things are looking up.”

he Fáilte Ireland report, which is based on the household travel survey by the Central Statistics Office and estimates by Fáilte Ireland, shows that Wicklow recorded a 46 per cent drop in trips by Irish holidaymakers to the county between 2019 and last year.

The number of people taking a holiday in the county in 2021 also fell. In 2019, 353,000 tourists took a break in Wicklow, while last year that number plummeted to 191,000.

Spending by Irish tourists in Wicklow also dropped by 19 per cent, with €43m generated last year, compared to €53m in 2019.

Although the county has suffered a sizeable downturn in domestic tourism, Wicklow County Council are satisfied that their shift in focus to outdoor tourism is already paying rich dividends.

“There has been a massive increase in participation in outdoor activity since travel restrictions lifted,” a spokesperson for Wicklow County Council said. “This is reflected in visitor numbers and traffic to places like Glendalough, Brittas Bray and Magheramore.

“Top destinations like Powerscourt, Mount Usher, Avoca, Killruddery House and Glendalough are starting to see a return to something resembling pre-Covid numbers. We’re actually doing a huge amount of work on Glendalough at the moment, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).”

By all accounts, the new ‘Beyond the Trees’ attraction in Avondale is proving to be a massive draw for tourists. The spokesperson for Wicklow County Council even speculated that Avondale will become one of the most prominent features on the broader Irish tourism map in the future.

“Outdoor is everything now,” the spokesperson said. “Last year Wicklow County Council, with support from Fáilte Ireland, put a massive effort into encouraging outdoor dining.

“There were a number of outdoor dining schemes, whereby there were grants provided to businesses. We waved any fees associated with licences for furniture in public spaces. The outdoor space at Market Square in Wicklow Town, for example, was a great success.”

Another huge positive to come out of the Fáilte Ireland report is that the average length of stay for visitors to Wicklow last year increased, by over one day.

“That’s very positive for us, because our strategy aims to increase the dwell time in the county,” the spokesperson said. “We’re looking to increase accommodation, because we know that overnight visitors spend a lot more. That’s one of our main focuses.”

The spokesperson explained that Wicklow Tourism are engaged in a number of initiatives to heighten public and international awareness of the Garden county’s outdoor activities.

Initiatives like Eco Trail Wicklow, which is Ireland’s largest trail running event, will provided plenty of exposure for areas like Bray Seafront, Bray Head, Killruddery, Powerscourt, the Wicklow Way, Lough Tay and Roundwood Reservoir.

Then there’s the The Celtic Routes Project, a co-funded European Territorial Co-Operation Ireland Wales project, aimed at encouraging visitors to explore new areas of Ireland and Wales. The project will focus on the areas of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in Wales and Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow in Ireland.

“There are so many positives to be taken from the last few months, the recovery is well under way,” the spokesperson said. “We had some great coverage on French television recently. They did a spot on Wicklow and it made the county look just magnificent.

“The Rose of Tralee was just fantastic for us. When Wicklow Rose Roisin Long showed the other roses around the county, it really piqued people’s interest.

“Yes, I think things are looking up for tourism in the county.”