Guinness Storehouse visitor numbers rebound post-pandemic

The Guinness Storehouse had a strong rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022, attracting over 1.1 million visitors.

Now in its 23rd year, the Guinness Storehouse has hosted over 22.9m visitors since opening the black gates to visitors in 2000.

Pre-pandemic, 93 per cent of visitors were international tourists, resulting in its numbers declining sharply due to travel restrictions.

The Guinness Storehouse was retailored for domestic days out during the pandemic, resulting in visitors from Ireland making up 24 per cent of numbers in 2022, more than double the visitor volume in 2019 and other previous years.

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Research from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation released earlier this week stated that about seven million international tourists came to Ireland in 2022, equating to a 73 per cent recovery since pre-pandemic peak levels of 2019.

Top nationalities from overseas to visit the Guinness Storehouse in 2022 were from USA (24 per cent) and UK (25 per cent).

Mainland Europe and long-haul markets such as Australia and New Zealand and some Asian markets were slower to recover.

Catherine Toolan, managing director of Diageo, which owns Guinness Storehouse, said innovation and reinvention were key to their return to high visitor numbers.

“We’re so proud of these results as they represent a hard fought recovery for an industry that was under severe restrictions just a year ago,” she said.

Despite the new strength in numbers, Ms Toolan cautioned against “significant challenges” that lie ahead in 2023, and has called for the Government to support recovery measures.

“The tourism industry delivers up to €5.9 billion in revenue and 330,000 jobs each year, so it’s incredibly important to keep recovery thriving. With the cost-of-living crisis, a shortage of hotel rooms, escalating car hire costs and volatility in Europe, there is certainly a tough year ahead,” she said.

“We would call on the Government to maintain the lower VAT rate of 9 per cent for the tourism and hospitality industry, making Ireland a strong proposition and value for money destination for international tourists.”