Tourism

Tourism has traditionally been an important indigenous sector in Fingal, in terms of generating revenue and employment. Its estimated that (pre-Covid) visitors to Fingal generated a €500 million annual spend, which sustains a total of 20,000 jobs (one in four jobs in Fingal) across all sectors (transport, retail, entertainment and other services).

Fingal’s Tourism sector is characterised by large numbers of SMEs, with 800 businesses providing accommodation and catering services. Guest accommodation was estimated to support 3,000 full time job equivalents and the catering sector a further 2000 jobs.

The Fingal Visitor Survey 2019 surveyed that the primary nationalities visiting Fingal were American (18.2%), Irish (16.4%) and Italian (9.1%). with 69.1% of visitors aged between 18-60. The most common group size was two persons and is likely indicative of couples with the vast majority of visitors also choosing to stay in Fingal (70.9%) and travel by car to the county (51.9%). The average expenditure for a respondent was under €50 with 70.6% of visitors not spending above this, just 7.8% spending more than €100.

The Fingal Tourism Development Office was established under the Tourism Strategy 2015-2018 to harnesses the combined resources of Fingal Tourism Ltd. and Fingal County Council. It acts as the focal point for all tourism related enabling and support functions and provides a ‘one-stop shop’ for the industry.

Key attractions in Swords are Swords Castle, which will be significantly enhanced by the Swords Cultural Quarter project, and retail activities such as Swords Pavilion. While these are important there are other attractions in Swords such as the historic church and round tower and the Ward River Valley, enhancing access to each could encourage increased numbers of visitors to stay longer and spend more in the area, increasing vitality and viability for local businesses.