Fáilte Ireland has announced that it will invest €150m into the development of major new visitor attractions across the country.
The €150m is the largest programme of investment yet from the tourism development authority and it forms part of its Grants Scheme for Large Tourism Projects which runs up to 2022.
Tourism minister Shane Ross announced the group's new Platforms for Growth initiative which aims to drive sustainable growth in the Irish tourism sector.
CEO Paul Kelly has said Platforms for Growth will "transform the tourism landscape across the country".
Through the programme, major new visitor attractions of scale will be developed and existing attractions greatly enhanced.
Fáilte Ireland will be making individual grants available for large-scale visitor attractions of €2.5m upwards.
'Immersive Heritage and Cultural Attractions' is the first of the Platforms to be launched. According to a statement it "will invest in projects that deliver innovative and interactive experiences for the visitor to ‘immerse’ themselves in."
Speaking at the launch, Mr Kelly said: "Driving growth in the regions through tourism is a core focus of our work at Fáilte Ireland and having top-class visitor attractions and experiences is an integral part of this.
"At Fáilte Ireland, we are currently working on over 50 large capital projects throughout Ireland that will significantly enhance the Irish tourism offering as they open in the coming four years.
"Platforms for Growth builds on this work and takes a new approach to investment, as it will specifically seek out projects of scale that tap into exactly what overseas visitors are looking for."
Mr Ross added: "Tourism has experienced significant growth in recent years and having world-class attractions has been fundamental in attracting visitors from around the globe to Ireland.
"Platforms for Growth will deliver on the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 objectives and it will do exactly as the name suggests – provide a platform that will contribute significantly to a growth in visitor numbers and the development of tourism nationwide."
Yesterday, the Central Statistics Office announced that the total number of trips to Ireland had increased in the first four months of 2019.
From January to April 2019, there were 2,965,000 trips to Ireland, an increase of 5.1% when compared with the same period in 2018.
