Kerry is by some margin the favourite holiday destination for Irish holidaymakers easily beating Galway and Cork into second and third place according to a new survey.
Twenty six per cent selected the ‘Kingdom’ as their favourite county for a break while Galway on 15.5% edged out Cork on 14.5% for second place.
More than 1,700 people took part in the survey which was carried out by leading property website MyHome.ie. The site currently has over 4,000 Irish holiday homes available for rent.
Wexford on 8%, Donegal on 7% and Clare on 6% comprise the next three positions, followed by Mayo, Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny.
However the good news for the ‘rebel’ county is that when asked which county they intend to holiday in this year, Cork on 14.3% emerged as the destination of choice ahead of Kerry on 14% and Galway on 11%.
The poor performance of several midland and northern counties was again a feature of this year’s survey, Offaly, Meath, Louth and Armagh failing to attract a single vote.
However when asked separately ‘what is the least appealing county for a holiday’, Leitrim received the most votes, followed by Laois and Dublin, indicating that trips to the capital generate a lot of mixed feelings. Others to feature prominently on this list included Longford, Limerick and Carlow.
Angela Keegan, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, said she hoped the recent spell of good weather would encourage Irish people to holiday 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, when it comes down to where people are holidaying this year, Cork has just edged ahead. There was good news for Kilkenny also as it moved into the top ten, up two places from last year, but unfortunately Wicklow is moving in the other direction.
"While every county cannot be a Kerry or Galway there is still huge scope for counties to develop and market their attractions. Over 40% of respondents believe the recession has led to better in holiday home rental and once domestic visitors arrive, foreign tourists will quickly follow. This year we have seen a big increase in traffic to our holiday rental section and this bodes well for the tourism sector,” Ms Keegan concluded.
You can check out MyHome's holiday home selection at www.myhome.ie/holiday-homes
