Kerry has topped the poll as the favourite domestic holiday destination of Irish holiday makers for the third year in a row according to a survey from MyHome.ie.
One in four of voters (24.5%) selected the ‘Kingdom’ as their favourite county for a break with Galway claiming second place on 17% and Cork taking third on 14%. More than 5,000 people took part in the survey which was carried out by MyHome.ie
Wexford and Clare both saw their support rise by 1.5% to 10% and 8% respectively while Donegal dropped to sixth place overall in the pecking order, down 1 to 6%. Mayo, Dublin and Wicklow make up the next three places with Kilkenny and Waterford clinging on to joint tenth place despite a significant drop in support for both.
However when asked where they intended to holiday this year the outcome was much closer, Kerry enjoying a 2% lead over neighbours Cork which in turn enjoyed a 2% lead over Galway.
The poor performance of several inland and northern counties was again a feature of the survey, Carlow, Longford, Roscommon, Monaghan, Tyrone, Derry and Down failing to attract a single vote. However when asked separately ‘what is the least appealing county for a holiday’, Dublin received the most votes, followed by Carlow, Limerick, Longford, Laois and Cavan.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said she hoped better weather in the final few weeks of August would encourage Irish people to continue holidaying in Ireland and to avail of the great value self catering options which are available.
‘It’s interesting to see that while Kerry is clearly the favourite holiday destination but when it comes down to where people are actually going the results are much closer. The popularity of Galway, Wexford and Clare has increased this year while the news is more mixed for Donegal, Waterford and Kilkenny.
“One interesting trend we see is the move towards more activity focused holidays so counties which have more to offer in this respect will clearly perform well. With the weak Euro acting as a disincentive to travel outside the Eurozone Irish people were probably more inclined to opt for a ‘staycation’ this year which is good news for the domestic tourism market. We are seeing a marked increase in traffic to our holiday rental section as people opt for a late summer or autumnal break and this bodes well for the sector overall,” Ms Keegan concluded.
Check out holiday homes around the country at www.myhome.ie/holiday-homes
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