Tourism in the Republic of Ireland is one of the biggest contributors to the Economy of the

Republic of Ireland, with 8.7 million people visiting the country in 2016, about 1.8 times Ireland's
population.[1][2] Each year about €5bn in revenue is made from economic activities directly related
to tourists, accounting for about 4% of GNP and employing over 200,000 people.[3][4] In 2011
alone, Ireland was voted 'Favourite holiday destination in the World' by readers of Frommer's
Guide, Lonely Planet listed Ireland as the world's friendliest country and Cork City as one of the
top ten cities in the world and the Irish tourist boards website, DiscoverIreland.com, was named
the best tourist board website in the world.[5][6] Most tourists visiting Ireland come from the United
Kingdom, the United States, Germany and France

Ireland's national flag carrier is Aer Lingus, which services Europe, North America and North
Africa, but the vast majority of flights originating from continental Europe come from another Irish
company, Ryanair, the biggest low cost airline in the world. These airlines, along with others, fly
into all three of Ireland's international airports, Shannon Airport, Dublin Airport and Cork Airport.
Dublin Airport is by far the busiest, accounting for over 80% of passenger entering and leaving
Ireland in 2011.[7] Along with these airports there are several other regional airports in the country
including Ireland West Airport Knock and Kerry Airport, which both operate international flights to
Europe.
For travellers from mainland Europe and the UK, another way to enter the country is by sea, with
connections by ferry to Roscoff and Cherbourgin France, Liverpool in England
and Pembroke, Fishguard and Holyhead in Wales and Douglas on the Isle of Man. These routes
are operated by Irish Ferries, Stena Line, Celtic Link Ferries and P&O Ferries.[8][9][10]
Motorways link Dublin with all the major cities in the country and there are plans to extend the
motorway system in the future. In recent years the quality of Irish roads has improved
dramatically with the advent of the Celtic Tiger and significant European Union funding, although
outside the main routes, roads can be quite unpredictable in terms of quality and upkeep,
especially in rural areas such as Co. Kerry and Co. Donegal.
The rail and light rail network in Ireland is not as extensive as it once was, but it is still possible to
get from city to city using the rail system, although many rural stations have closed along these
lines. At the moment there is only one light rail system in the country, the Luas in Dublin. This
system opened in 2004 and due to the number of people availing of it (27.5million in 2010) it was
stated as being "Dublin's best public transport success story" by Minister for Transport, Leo
Varadkar in 2011.[11]