Ireland's first “Tourism Day” means free entry to top attractions

Ireland’s first ever Tourism Day will be on Friday, April 17.

Over 100 of the country's top tourist attractions will be open to the public free of charge, and special events will also be held at participating locations on the day.

Participating sites include the Cliffs of Moher, Guinness Storehouse, Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, the Book of Kells Exhibition at Trinity College, and many more across Ireland.

Tickets to attractions must be pre-registered on the website at TourismDay.ie. It is recommended to reserve tickets as early as possible as popular attractions are likely to book up quickly. Some sites are already sold out.

"Tourism is a wonderful teacher and I hope people take the opportunity of free admission to get out there and explore Ireland,” said former Nationwide presenter Mary Kennedy, who launched the event last week at MoLI, Dublin's new museum of literature.

Guinness Storehouse. Credit: Tourism Ireland

The event will take place during the Easter school holidays to encourage families to explore their local attractions. It also coincides with Fáilte Ireland's new domestic marketing campaign, 'Keep Discovering,’ which highlights staycations, Independent.ie reports.

"Tourism Day is a chance for the public to explore a tourist attraction that they may not have visited before, or somewhere they would like to bring a friend or family member," said Eoghan O’ Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), which is organizing the initiative with the support of Fáilte Ireland.

O'Mara Walsh described the event as a “Culture Night for tourism.”

According to the Tourism Day website, the initiative hopes to highlight Ireland’s vast range of tourist attractions and encourage more people to visit these sites and venues. It also aims to raise the profile of Ireland’s tourism industry and encourage job seekers to consider the tourism and hospitality sectors.