News: Irish whiskey tourism sees 425% hike in 2022 [The Spirits Business]
Whiskey tourism in Ireland attracted 677,000 visitors in 2022, boosted by ‘staycations’ and tourism from North America.
According to research by the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA), 2022 saw a 425% increase in visitors to Ireland’s whiskey distilleries, but the figures are still far from the peak of 1.02 million seen in 2019.
James Doherty, chairperson of the IWA, said: “2022 represented a year of recovery following two years of closures and restrictions, due to Covid-19.
“While 2021 saw encouraging support from domestic visitors and staycationers, 2022 saw a strong rebound in the number of visitors from international markets, particularly North America, Germany and Great Britain.”