Yesterday I got to spend another day traveling the countryside and visiting the Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny. As I have said before, these days in the country are my absolute favorite because you really get the sense that you are in another country. Ireland has such a strong, collective culture, and being in the country makes that so much clearer. As a tourist and a student here, I find that Ireland has a huge advantage in the tourist industry because they can offer such a wide variety of experiences within such a small area. I can have a breakfast coffee in the middle of a bustling city in the morning, see the most beautiful mountains, and have lunch from a food truck next to a lake in a small town directly after. It is rare that you can find so many experiences all within relatively short bus rides or drives. It also helps that all the drives through the city and into the country are absolutely breathtaking. Their strong culture is also a huge competitive advantage for them. They love where they are from, and they can make anyone who visits love it just as much.
A suppose a few things that hurt Ireland’s tourist industry could be the weather (not that we have experienced any of this!). Some people would rather travel to a sunny beach where they know the weather will always be warm and sunny, but in Ireland, a tourist would be lucky to experience even a few days of this. Again, not that this effects us in any way, but for some people traveling from other countries, a language barrier can often deter people from traveling to countries that don’t speak the same language. Overall though, I think Ireland is doing great with their many tour options and a wide variety of things to do in their country. Their tourist industry seems to be growing as their business side of things is also growing.
Pictures are truly worth a thousand words when seeing all the incredible sites Ireland has to offer!
