Friday August 19th 2011.
Kerry is head and shoulders above all other counties when it comes to favourite holiday destinations with over 24% of the vote according to a new survey by leading property website MyHome.ie.Galway on 17% and Cork on 15% are ‘the Kingdom’s’ main rivals while Wexford and Donegal, both on 8% make up the top five.
When asked ‘what is the least appealing county for a holiday’, Dublin received the most votes, 10%, followed by Limerick and Longford on 7%.
Laois on 6% and Louth, Offaly and Leitrim, all on 5%, were other counties which proved unattractive to holidaymakers.
The survey of over 2,000 people showed a strong correlation between people’s favourite counties and the counties they intend to visit for a break this year. Not surprisingly Kerry came out top again in this question on 14%, but Cork edged into second place on 13% while Galway was third on 11%. Wexford was on 8% while Donegal came in on 7%. Other counties to score well were Mayo on 6% and Clare and Dublin on 5%.
According to the survey few people are planning trips to counties like Laois, Offaly, Monaghan and Roscommon while the numbers planning trips to Northern Ireland are also very low.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said she was surprised that more people were not heading North. ‘While some people may head North for shopping our survey shows the same numbers clearly do not intend going there for a holiday. The North just doesn’t seem to feature in people’s holiday plans. In fact if you combine all the figures for those heading North for a break you come up with 4.5%. To put it in context that’s similar to the number of people from the Republic planning a trip to Waterford alone this year’ Keegan said.
Not surprisingly the main motivation for holidays is rest and recreation (58%) but other factors include activities (12%), visiting family/friends (11%), city trips (8%), cultural/religious (7%) and spas/health reasons (3%).
While 11% indicated they preferred to holiday in Ireland and 41% said their preference was for a holiday abroad, a clear majority, 48%, opted for both.
Baggage charges topped the list of issues which put people off travelling abroad (26%) while time lost travelling (18%) and security checks (17%) were also important factors. Packing (5%), fear of flying (4%) and the weather (3%) were other issues highlighted while 2% of respondents found cultural differences off-putting.
Only twenty three per-cent of respondents admitted that natural disasters like the ones which occurred in Japan, New Zealand and Australia earlier this year would put them off foreign travel, although when asked if those events would put them off visiting those specific countries the figure rose to 33% with a further 14% saying they didn’t know.
While 73% of those surveyed said they felt the recession had led to better value holiday pricing in Ireland, the same did not apply to the price of air travel. While 29% thought the price of flights had improved, 21% thought they had gone up and 45% thought there had been no change.
The survey also found that self-catering was the accommodation type of choice for Irish people. Angela Keegan pointed out that most people, (36%), chose self catering because it offered excellent value.
‘While 24% chose self-catering because of the facilities available, a further 28% opted for it because it feels like a home from home. I think that is the great advantage of house rentals over other types of accommodation and when you combine that with good value you’re on a winner. Our survey shows people believe there is better value to be had in the holiday home rental market, so really it’s a question of logging onto MyHome.ie and getting a good deal’ Keegan concluded.
ENDS.
For Further Information
Contact Kieran Garry,
Gordon MRM,
01-6650455 or 087-2368366
Note to Editor
Survey based on the responses of over 2,000 people to a detailed questionnaire on the MyHome.ie website.
