Whether it is our dramatic coastal scenery, world class cycling attractions or soft, rolling green hills, something about Mayo has mass appeal.
The county was officially named this week as one of the most visited counties in the country for Irish people who holiday at home.
Irish people made some 373,000 trips to Mayo in 2013, making it the sixth most visited county in the country, after Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kerry, and Wexford.
The domestic tourism accounted for more than 1.4 million bed nights in Mayo.
What is more, domestic vistors to Mayo tended to stay and enjoy the county longer.
The average length of stay here is 3.8 days, the third longest in the country with only Kerry and Clare attracting visitors for longer.
The figures were released earlier this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO ) as part of its quarterly Household Travel Survey.
The report showed domestic tourism grew by 7.1 per cent last year.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring welcomed the increase in domestic tourism.
“These figures show that the tourism industry continues to perform and provide jobs across the country as it moves into recovery,” he said. “The good performance reflects the hard work by many tourism enterprises to ensure they continue to offer enjoyable breaks and value for money. The Government and its agencies are firmly backing and promoting competitiveness through measures like the reduced VAT rate for tourism-related sectors.”
Minister Ring added that he was confident the tourism sector can keep generating new growth when it comes to Irish people enjoying holidays at home.
Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, described the figures as “encouraging”.
“The important thing for tourism businesses now is to maintain both quality and good value to ensure this momentum grows,” he added.
